| Synopsis: |
Northern Ireland has the highest levels of fuel poverty in the UK. The Northern Ireland House Condition Survey 2006 records 34 per cent of households in fuel poverty, compared with 11.5 per cent of households in England, 27.5 per cent in Scotland and 20 per cent in Wales. Recent increases in fuel prices have exacerbated the problem and drawn even more households into fuel poverty: the Department suggested that perhaps 40 per cent of all households in Northern Ireland are now fuel poor. The Warm Homes Scheme (the Scheme), established by the Department in July 2001, provides a range of home insulation measures to vulnerable households in the owner occupied and private rented sectors. Warm Homes Plus, an extension of the Scheme, provides for new heating systems as well as insulation measures to qualifying householders aged over 60 years old. The Scheme is seen as the primary tool for eliminating fuel poverty amongst vulnerable owner-occupiers and private rented households by 2010, a target set in the 2004 Fuel Poverty Strategy.However, without a significant revision to the Scheme and a concerted effort by departments, the energy companies, and the regulator, it is unlikely that this target will be met. The result is that many, including some of the most vulnerable in our society, will continue to experience fuel poverty and be left to make the choice between 'heat or eat'. |