Home heating thermostat in cold weather (12deg), with target temperature of 20dec. Challenges of being able to afford adequate heating

What is fuel poverty? - background from https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Fuel-Poverty/What-is-fuel-poverty Fuel poverty definition in England and Wales Until recently, the usual definition of fuel poverty was that a household was considered to be in fuel poverty when it needed to spend more than 10% of its income on fuel – or energy as it is often called. However, in June 2013, the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC)* published 'A framework for future action’ which set out the Government’s intention to adopt a new definition of fuel poverty for England. This new definition states that a household is said to be in fuel poverty if: They have required fuel costs that are above average (the national median level), and Were they to spend that amount they would be left with a residual income below the official poverty line. This also uses a fuel poverty gap - i.e. the difference between a household’s 'modelled' (average) bill and what their bill would need to be for them to no longer be fuel poor. Read the Department for Energy and Climate Change's Fuel Poverty framework for future action * DECC was closed on 14 July 2016 by the Prime Minister Theresa May. Energy issues will now be covered by a new department called Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Fuel poverty definition in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland still largely use the old definition: that a person is living in fuel poverty if, to heat their home to a satisfactory standard, they need to spend more than 10 per cent of their household income on fuel. Key fuel poverty factors The key factors that can contribute to fuel poverty are: The energy efficiency of the property (and therefore, the energy required to heat and power the home) The cost of energy Household income. Number of households in fuel poverty is rising The number of households experiencing fuel poverty is rising at the moment for several reasons: