As the only network of ambitious local authorities led by all political parties working together to tackle climate change, UK100 welcomed the opportunity to contribute to this important policy review. Our submission emphasises several crucial areas:
- Empowering local authorities - Local authorities play a critical role in identifying and supporting fuel-poor households. They need enhanced funding, capacity building, and access to data to deliver place-based solutions tailored to vulnerable communities.
- Smart technology and vulnerable households - Ensuring vulnerable households have equal access to smart technologies is key to enabling them to benefit from flexible energy tariffs. Solutions must be designed to accommodate those with financial, mobility, digital, language or health challenges.
- Co-benefits of climate action - Energy efficiency measures offer multiple benefits beyond reducing energy consumption, including improved health outcomes and financial savings. Non-competitive, place-based funding to local authorities can help implement effective retrofit programmes.
- Joined-up policy design - A holistic approach to fuel poverty requires collaboration across multiple government departments, integrating energy, health, housing, and social services for coordinated support.
- Improved advice and access - Quality advice services are essential for empowering fuel-poor households to navigate the energy market, with both digital and in-person support options grounded in the communities they serve.
UK100 strongly supports retaining the 2030 fuel poverty target, emphasising that it provides a clear deadline for action while aligning with net zero goals. We highlight that the average fuel poverty gap increased by 20% from £348 in 2022 to £417 in 2023, with UK-wide energy debt now almost £4 billion, underscoring the urgent need for intervention.
Our submission calls for a 'fabric first' approach to improving home energy efficiency, focusing first on the worst performing properties while ensuring no homes are left behind. We also advocate for innovative approaches to measuring fuel poverty that capture both energy efficiency and affordability challenges.
The consultation response emphasises that local authorities are best positioned to lead on tackling fuel poverty with their deep understanding of local needs, but require adequate resources, funding, and capacity-building support to be effective in this role.
