Tackling fuel poverty together

What is fuel poverty?

Fuel poverty is when households need to spend a large proportion of their income to adequately heat their home. The government measures fuel poverty using the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) indicator, which classes a household as being in fuel poverty if they are living in a property with an energy efficiency rating of D or below, and their residual income after heating their home puts them below the poverty line. By contrast, National Energy Action defines a household as being in fuel poverty if it spends 10% or more of its income on energy.

Whichever definition of fuel poverty you use, one thing is certain: millions of households in the UK are currently living in fuel poverty, and if you’re housing provider, it’s likely that this includes a significant portion of your tenants. According to the UK government, in 2024 11% of households in the UK were living in fuel poverty – that’s 2.73 million households, with 36.3% of households spending more than 10% of their income after housing costs on energy – that’s 8.99 million households.

What causes fuel poverty?

A variety of factors can push households into fuel poverty, and it is vital for housing providers to be tuned into the individual circumstances of their tenants to best meet their needs. Fuel poverty can be caused or worsened by:

• • Poor energy efficiency of homes.

• • Low incomes.

• • High housing and other living costs.

• • High energy prices.

The impact of fuel poverty

Living in fuel poverty has a devastating impact on the health and wellbeing of households. Cold homes are more susceptible to damp and mould – so if your tenants are living in these conditions, they are at risk of developing or worsening existing cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. As a housing provider, if your tenants are unable to adequately heat their homes, there may be potentially costly repairs to your homes to fix the damage done by damp and mould. The other impact of fuel poverty on tenants is the knock-on effect on their finances and their ability to pay other bills, like food and rent. When your tenants are living in fuel poverty, they may rack up debt and fall behind in rent payments.

Partnering with HACT to tackle fuel poverty

Housing providers are uniquely placed to tackle and prevent fuel poverty by supporting at-risk tenants with fuel vouchers. FFBS work with housing providers and other grant-giving organisations to distribute vital cost of living support, and we have partnered with HACT since 2023 to deliver their Fuel Fund. The Fuel Fund delivers much needed financial support to social housing residents, helping them keep on top of their energy bills, get out of debt and stay warm year-round. Through our partnership, we have worked with HACT to streamline their processes, ensuring a speedy distribution of vouchers and payments to households at risk of fuel poverty.

Last year, the fund distributed over £3 million worth of energy vouchers and payments, supporting 13,126 households nationwide with bills.

HACT said: “Family Fund Business Services have been an integral partner in the delivery of our energy support services. Their flexibility and responsiveness has been vital to the success of our schemes as we deliver support to thousands of households across the UK. What is extra special about our partnership is that our shared values and commitment to making a positive difference in communities. We know that by working with Family Fund Business Services, we are also supporting a charity that is providing vital support to families raising a disabled or seriously ill child which helps us to meet our social purpose.”