Fuel Poverty

The Fuel Poverty Strategy made a commitment to eliminate fuel poverty throughout the UK by 2016. However, due to various factors including rising energy prices and the economic downturn, fuel poverty has increased year on year since 2003, and it is now estimated over 4 million households are affected. This book examines the impact the new Local Authority Performance Framework is having on tackling fuel poverty at the local level. The new framework has given local authorities (LAs) increased power to determine the local policy agenda. However, despite the growth of fuel poverty less than a third of LAs in the UK have adopted the performance indicator (NI187) associated with monitoring and alleviating fuel poverty as part of their local policy framework. It is at this critical juncture of increasing fuel poverty and dramatic change in the nature of local governance that this timely research is conducted. The study analyses the impact of NI187 and the new LA performance framework on fuel poverty alleviation, and concludes with a series of policy recommendations aimed at improving abatement at the local level.