Saturday, December 3, 2011

A quarter of UK homes in fuel poverty

3:11 PM | Posted by Free Game Zone | | Edit Post

Exclusive:

Figure

from one-fifth of households last year, ie, the coalition will not fulfill its obligation legal end fuel poverty in 2016

A quarter of households in England and Wales have fallen into poverty after a drop of fuel sharp increases in energy costs and stagnant incomes, the Guardian can reveal.

The dramatic rise in fuel poverty - compared to almost one in five homes last year to one in four today - will be very embarrassing for the government, which has a legal obligation eliminate fuel poverty by 2016. It seems certain that fail to meet their legal obligations.

projections of the previous government predicted that this year would be 4.1 million households in fuel poverty, defined as those who spend 10% or more of their income to achieve the warmth and good light.

However, these estimates were calculated before the big price increase announced last summer by the Big Six energy suppliers. The new calculations, provided that focus on the legal consumption of consumer rights and the body seen by The Guardian, based on real accounts, the figures show in England, currently has more than 5 million homes.

The revelation comes as figures show that average families are now facing the worst pressure on wages since records began in 1950. In his analysis of the return of autumn, George Osborne, the influential Institute for Fiscal Studies said the median family income in 2015 would be worse than they were in 2002, noting the continued rise in fuel prices as the One of the main factors, coupled with stagnant wages and cuts in the welfare of the government.

The price increase was recorded the biggest supplier, British Gas, put your prices for gas and electricity up to 18% and 16%, which means that on average The annual bill for dual fuel customers has increased from 9 million to £ 1288 £ 1096.
  • new figures show marked regional differences in the levels of fuel poverty. In Wales, some half a million households, over 40% of the total, are now fuel poor. North and West Midlands, have levels of fuel poverty by more than 30%, while the Northwest has just under 30%. The figure for the South East, meanwhile, is only 17%.
  • Some 2.5 million are already in debt with their energy supplier, and the depth of the debt is growing rapidly. The average debt in arrears of gas is now 320 pounds.
The main political parties attacked the six major suppliers in their conferences this autumn price increases that have averaged 21% since last year. Over the last five years, average prices increased by 88%. At the conference Lib Dem Chris Huhne, the energy secretary, has accused the six suppliers, representing 99% of domestic energy in the UK, negligence. In his defense, the companies believe that the price increase reflects the high cost of energy in world markets. The regulator Ofgem is carrying out an audit of where the companies make their profits and is expected to report year-end.
Dr Brenda Boardman
members of the Institute of Environmental Change at the University of Oxford, said the pressure on the basis of the politicians to act against the energy sector, as members are Fuel shortages in their constituencies every two weeks. Each price increase of 1% has at least 40,000 more households in fuel poverty, forcing people to make decisions regarding the activation of the heating or food or to reduce debt for the construction, he said . Insufficient heating contributes to the death of "excess" of winter, which rotate at 27 000 per year. It also puts more pressure on a health service already strained by the cuts because it contributes to health problems.

The Ministry of Energy and Climate Change commissioned an independent review of the fuel shortage after the comprehensive spending review last fall. Their findings, published earlier this month, proposed to amend the definition of energy poverty. If adopted, the proposals to halve the number of households in poverty defined as fuel.
The Guardian has learned that DECC approached several Ministers of Labour in 2010 the former to conduct the review in an attempt to calm the political storm chances of beer on the fuel shortage. Lord Whitty, former president of Consumer Focus, has confirmed that he and others had been contacted, but said he declined because he felt that the Treasury was too much emphasis on the redefinition of the fuel shortage in an attempt to minimize the problem. The review was overseen over time by Professor John Hills, a respected expert on poverty at the London School of Economics. A spokesman said the DECC Hills Review will direct resources to those in need.



Find best price for : --DECC----Brenda----Guardian--

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