| % fuel poor households | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |
| England | 13.4 | 13.1 | 13.2 | 13.4 |
| South West | 13.1 | 11.9 | 11.4 | 10.6 |
| Bath and North East Somerset | NA | 12.1 | 11.2 | 10.2 |
| Source: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (2023) | ||||
| Note: The LILEE measure was first applied in 2019 | ||||
Fuel Poverty in Bath and North East Somerset
The cost-of-living crisis followed by rising fuel costs and extreme weather has thrown more and more households into risk of being fuel poor. Fuel poor homes struggle to heat their houses to an appropriate temperature. Numerous studies and reports have shown that cold homes can cause cold and mould related illness such as respiratory and cardiovascular conditions as well as poor mental health and well-being problems1–3.
Fuel poverty in England is defined according to the ‘Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE)’ indicator. Households are considered fuel poor if:
they live in a house which have an energy efficiency rating of D, E, F or G, and
have a disposable income (income after housing costs and energy costs) that is lower than 60% of median income for all households, which was £15,385 in 2022.
1 Exploring Fuel Poverty at a Local Level
Fuel poor households are affected by three main aspects - low energy efficiency of the housing, low income and energy price. Among them, the UK Government put improving energy efficiency of housings at the centre of the future fuel poverty strategies as it is ‘the best long term solution’4(p. 21), along with some assistance in cash for vulnerable populations (e.g., pensioners and people on benefit). The policies for achieving this goal include applying energy efficiency standards for new homes and rented properties, and providing grants and loans to retrofit least energy efficient houses.
These policies, however, involve significant agency from local authorities. As of the end of 2010/11, funding from the central government for Private Sector Renewal programme was discontinued5. Since then, local authorities were given more flexibility in allocating their budget to grants and/or loans according to the needs of their local households to improve their housing condition. More recently in 2020, the UK government introduced the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme to support homeowners to make energy efficient improvements. However, despite of the government’s will to extend the scheme, this was yet again closed in March 2023 due to management issues and the remaining budget of £300 million was transferred to be delivered by local authorities6,7. This policy landscape suggests local authorities play a crucial role in tackling fuel poverty.
In fact, local governments are well-positioned to deliver tailored policies for these households. Depending on local circumstances, the profile of fuel poor households may vary8. Using data available at a local level, they can identify who are suffering from fuel poverty and design policies accordingly. This means limited local budgets can be allocated more efficiently using a targeted approach based on the identified households’ characteristics.
Furthermore, local authorities have more opportunities than the central government to create a close partnership with third sector organisations in the area which tend to have stronger relationships and bonds with people in smaller communities. This would allow a more localised and flexible approach when supporting fuel poor households.
This report aims to provide analysis on the Bath and North East Somerset’s (hereafter, BNES) profile on households and housing, which will help local authorities and third sector agencies identify the characteristics of those in need of fuel poverty support, and tailor and target their services accordingly.
2 Fuel Poverty in BNES
Table 1 shows the percentage of fuel poor households in England between 2022 and 2019. In 2022, 13.4% of households in England were defined to be in fuel poverty, showing small changes throughout past 4 years. Meanwhile, the percentages of fuel poor households in South West are showing a consistently increasing trend, recording 13.1% in 2022. The level of fuel poverty in BNES also increased between 2019 and 20211. In 2021, the percentage of fuel poor households in BNES (12.1%) exceeded that in South West (11.9%)9. While it is difficult to determine cause(s) for this without a more detailed dataset, this suggests BNES needs to put measures to stop this trend.
Worth noting is that while the percentage of household in fuel poverty seems to have changed somewhat marginally, the fuel poverty gap has been increasing rapidly in the past two years due to the increase in energy price. In 2022, the national aggregate fuel poverty gap was £1,103 millions, which is a 37 percent increase from 2021 (£804 millions)9. Although the exact regional breakdown of this figure is not available, it is likely that the gap would have increased regionally as well. This suggests those who are classed as fuel poor household may be making greater compromises to meet their most imminent needs and require larger support to avoid fuel poverty.
Also, the current definition of fuel poverty only includes low income households who are living in a poor energy efficiency housing (EPC rating D and below). This suggests households’ affordability is less considered. Indeed, the government acknowledges that the LILEE measure is not sensitive to changes in fuel price7. Under the recent increases in energy price, more households might struggle to keep their house warm and run essential appliances, but are not necessarily defined as fuel poor.
In the following sections, we explore distribution of deprivation and dwelling ages in BNES, which are the major factors of fuel poverty according to the current definition.
Inequalities across BNES
BNES at a local authority level is considered relatively less deprived than other areas in England. According to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2019, only 5 out of 115 Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) in BNES are in 20% most deprived deciles nationally whereas 39 LSOAs are in 20% least deprived10 . Figure 1 shows distribution of deprivation across the BNES small areas. LSOAs of lower deciles (more deprived) are generating pockets of deprived areas, for example, Twerton, Kingsmead and Radstock. People with low income and/or poor health are more likely to live in these areas.
However, the fuel poverty map shows fuel poverty is affecting somewhat wider areas (Figure 1 see Fuel Poverty in the map). Firstly, Westmoreland is the area with the highest proportion of fuel poor household, while it is the area of high IMD deciles. Other small areas near Central Bath (e.g., most areas in Oldfield Park and Kingsmead, and parts of Twerton, Southdown and Widcombe&Lyncombe) and some rural areas in Bathavon South, Bathavon North, Chew Valley and Publow&Whitchurch also show somewhat high proportion of fuel poor households, but relatively lower level of multiple deprivation.
Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (2019; 2022)
Note 1: The IMD decile dataset published in 2019 is based on LSOA boundaries in 2011. The fuel poverty dataset published in 2022 is based on the new LSOA boundaries created in 2021. Hence, some boundaries may have changed between two plots.
Note 2: By ticking the ‘Ward’ check box, you can overlay ward boundaries on top of the LSOA data.
Age of Housings
One reason why fuel poverty is a wider issue in BNES is the age of the dwellings in the area. This makes it particularly challenging for the area to tackle the issue. Office for National Statistics (ONS)11 reports the age of a property is the most critical factor when predicting its energy efficiency. The data shows the likelihood of homes to have a EPC rating of C or above is significantly higher for those built later than 2012 than those built earlier. According to the data collected by ONS and Valuation Office Agency (distributed by12), only 3.6% of the dwellings in BNES are built after 2010 (Table 2), suggesting housings in BNES are likely to have poor energy efficiency.
| Year Built | Region | % |
|---|---|---|
| Before 1900 | 21766 | 27.5 |
| 1900-1918 | 3582 | 4.5 |
| 1919-1929 | 2420 | 3.1 |
| 1930-1939 | 5571 | 7.0 |
| 1945-1954 | 6190 | 7.8 |
| 1955-1964 | 9400 | 11.9 |
| 1965-1972 | 8767 | 11.1 |
| 1973-1982 | 6314 | 8.0 |
| 1983-1992 | 4450 | 5.6 |
| 1993-1999 | 3337 | 4.2 |
| 2000-2009 | 3433 | 4.3 |
| 2010-2015 | 2845 | 3.6 |
| Unknown | 1016 | 1.3 |
| Source: Office for National Statistics and Valuation Office Agency (2020) | ||
Indeed, Figure 2 shows over 60% of the homes in BNES have a EPC rating of D or below. This puts lots of households across BNES in a vulnerable position to fall into fuel poverty.
3 Identifying the Needs
In this section, we analyse household and housing characteristics that are found to be more vulnerable to fuel poverty. Using the local data, policy makers and stakeholders can identify where the needs exist, what kind of support they may need and tailor the support accordingly.
Housing Characteristics
According to the UK Government’s Net Zero Strategy13, they aim all homes to have EPC ratings of C and above by 2035 and fuel poor homes to meet the same target by 2030. BNES Climate Emergency Strategy14 also states improving energy efficiency of housings as one of the four priorities to reach its goal of net zero by 2030.
Energy Efficiency
Comparing Figure 3 with the fuel poverty data (Figure 1), rural areas with higher levels of fuel poverty (e.g., Bathavon South, Publow&Witchurch and Chew Valley) are those with the highest proportions of housings of poor energy efficiency ratings, followed by urban areas with a high fuel poverty level. Nevertheless, this issue is prevalent across the whole of BNES because over 50% of dwellings in almost all wards are rated an EPC of D and below. This suggests that applying energy efficient measures to these housings is vital in all wards in order to meet the target of reducing carbon footprint of existing dwellings by 2030.
Main Fuel Type
Figure 4 suggests this generally reflects the type of central heating. Fuel Poverty data suggest households with gas as a main fuel type are less likely to be in fuel poverty (12.3%) than those with electricity (23.6%) and other types including oil, wood and soild fuel etc. (16.5%)9. Kingsmead, Walcot, Bathwick and Westmoreland displays higher percentage of households with electric heaters. Also, it is noticeable that a high percentage of households in rural areas (e.g., Bathavon South, Chew Valley, Publow & Witchurch) use oil as their main fuel type. This contributes to the high levels of fuel poverty in these areas.
Prepayment Meter
Households using prepayment meters to pay for their electricity are more likely to be in fuel poverty (27.8%) than those using direct debit (10.5%) and standard debit (17.5%), which is driven by a low median income level among these households9. Households using prepayment meters can be more vulnerable to fuel poverty because they cannot spread the fuel costs as direct debit customers. Citizens Advice15 reports 800,000 people disconnected gas and electricity for more than 24 hours because they could not afford to top up their prepayment meter. They expect this problem will only become worse because energy suppliers can force a prepayment meter upon households that are currently in debt15.
Figure 5 shows a high percentage of households in Twerton area use a prepayment electricity meter, which is consistent with a high level of deprivation and fuel poverty in this area.
Accommodation Type
According to Fuel Poverty Statistics9, households living in converted flats and end-terraced houses were most likely to be fuel poor because of relatively higher median fuel costs. Converted flats are likely to be transformed from older properties which are highly unlikely to be energy efficient. End-terraced houses are also likely to be less energy efficient because of the number of exposed walls.
Figure 6 shows converted flats are concentrated in wards around central Bath such as Lansdown, Kingsmead, Bathwick, Walcot and Oldfield Park. These wards are also characterised by high percentages of electricity as the main fuel type (Figure 4).
While the Census data do not differentiate mid-terraced houses and end-terraced houses, we expect that households living in end-terraced houses are also concentrated around central Bath due to the high percentages of terraced houses in central wards.
Lastly, most rural wards show over 40% of housings are detached houses. All households living in a detached house are less likely to be in fuel poverty because their median income is higher than those living in other accommodation types . However, fuel poor households living in a detached house show significantly greater fuel poverty gap than other accommodation types because they tend to spend much more on fuel due to a larger floor area9. Relatively high percentages of houses in these areas use oil as their main fuel type, which also contributes to high fuel costs (Figure 4).
Tenure
Private renters are most likely to be fuel poor (24.1%), followed by social renters (17.3%)9. This is because social housing are more likely to have high energy efficiency. According to Bath and North East Somerset House Condition Survey 2011, the mean SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure) score of social housings in BNES was 69 (equivalent to C in terms of a EPC rating), while it was 56 (equivalent to EPC D rating) for private rented properties16 .
In BNES, wards in central Bath (e.g., Westmoreland, Kingsmead, Oldfield Park and Walcot) display the highest percentages of private renters and Twerton shows the highest percentage of social renter (48.3%). These areas also show high percentages of households in fuel poverty (Figure 1) , suggesting private renters in BNES may be particularly vulnerable to fuel poverty.
Worth highlighting here is the record of grants and loans provided by BNES. BNES have been offering several schemes including Disabled Facilities Grant, Bright Green Homes Grant and Energy Loans to support those who are in need of energy-saving improvements17. Table 3 shows, grants, loans and any assistance were assigned mostly to owner occupied dwellings in the past 5 years. It is only the last financial year that private rented dwellings benefited from these schemes, which was still on much smaller scale than the owner-occupied.
According to BNES Climate Emergency Strategy14, approximately 65,000 homes in BNES need energy saving improvements. Applying for these schemes is more complicated for private rented tenants because they need to get consent from their landlord to conduct any needed retrofit work. It is important to devise measures which can encourage private landlords to agree to their tenants’ needs of making home warm while reducing fuel costs in order for those in need to take up the available support.
| Financial year | Owner occupied | Private rented | Total number of dwelling improved | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of dwellings improved | Grants (£000s) | Loans and other assistance (£000s) | Number of dwellings improved | Grants (£000s) | Loans and other assistance (£000s) | ||
| 2022/23 | 71 | 509 | 123 | 6 | 73 | 0 | 77 |
| 2021/22 | 146 | 893 | 86 | [.] | [.] | [.] | 146 |
| 2020/21 | 156 | 535 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 156 |
| 2019/20 | 69 | 82 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69 |
| 2018/19 | 146 | 82 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 146 |
| Source: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (2024) | |||||||
| Note: The number of dwellings improved only includes those where grant/loan has been completed (fully paid). Expenditure figures, however, include any payments made in the corresponding year. | |||||||
| [.] = data missing or unavailable | |||||||
Household Characteristics
Households with certain characteristics are more likely to be fuel poor and also more vulnerable to health impacts that are closely related to cold homes. By exploring these characteristics by ward, we identify where the more imminent needs might be.
Disabled People in the Household
Households including disabled people and those with long-term illness are more likely to be fuel poor because they have a higher likelihood of having low income due to unstable employment or inability to work18. At the same time, they have a greater need for energy because they tend to spend longer hours at home and might use medical equipments supporting their daily lives2. For this reason, being fuel poor may mean that their basic needs are not met.
In BNES, Twerton, Moorland and Radstock show the highest percentages of households including disabled people.
Households with Dependent Children
Households with one or more dependent children are more likely to be fuel poor than those with no dependent children, single parents (26.4%) considerably more than couples (19.6%) due to their lower median income9. Cold homes have adverse impact on early year’s growth, respiratory illness and mental health, which could have a life-long consequences. Furthermore, it may affect their education outcomes because they are more likely to miss schools from cold home related illnesses and it is more difficult for them to study in a cold home or a crowded room because only one or two rooms are heated2.
In BNES, wards such as Twerton, Combe Down, Keynsham South and Radstock show high percentages of lone parents.
4 Concluding Remarks
This report shows that fuel poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon, and that these dimensions play out in different ways across wards in the BNES area. Tackling fuel poverty is therefore not straightforward, but action on one dimension is still likely to have positive impacts on local populations. There is an extremely strong case for focusing attention on the lowest-income households where accommodation type makes them vulnerable to fuel poverty: those in social housing, those in older private-rented accommodation, and those in rural areas. Different types of action is likely to be required in each case. It is important that the local authority and third sector organisations work together to develop policies that can improve energy efficiency of overall housings as well as effectively tackle fuel poverty in the area.
This report is supported by the EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account institutional grant at the University of Bath (Ref: ES/X004651/1).
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References
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2. Lee, A., Sinha, I., Boyce, T., Allen, J., & Goldblatt, P. (2022). Fuel poverty, cold homes and health inequalities in the UK. Institute of Health Equity; https://www.instituteofhealthequity.org/resources-reports/fuel-poverty-cold-homes-and-health-inequalities-in-the-uk/read-the-report.pdf.
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14. Bath & North East Somerset Council. (2023). Bath & north east somerset climate emergency strategy. https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/policy-and-documents-library/bath-north-east-somerset-climate-emergency-strategy.
15. Citizens Advice. (2024). More than two million people will be cut off from their gas and electricity this winter because they can’t afford to top up, citizens advice warns. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/about-us1/media/press-releases/more-than-two-million-people-will-be-cut-off-from-their-gas-and-electricity-this-winter-because-they-cant-afford-to-top-up-citizens-advice-warns/.
16. Bath & North East Somerset Council. (2012). Bath and north east somerset house condition survey 2011. https://democracy.bathnes.gov.uk/documents/s22398/HouseConditionSurveys.pdf.
17. Bath & North East Somerset Council. (2024). Bath and north east somerset energy at home. https://www.energyathome.org.uk/grants-and-support.
18. Snell, C., Bevan, M., & Thomson, H. (2015). Justice, fuel poverty and disabled people in england. Energy Research & Social Science, 10, 123–132. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2015.07.012
Footnotes
The BNES data in 2022 is not available yet.↩︎