Tuesday 11 December 2.00 - 4.00pm, Committee Room 6, House of Commons.
Supporting fuel poor families through energy efficiency measures - Practitioner guide
The findings from ‘Policy Pathways to Justice in Energy Efficiency’ is to be launched in Parliament at an event hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Intelligent Energy and the All Party Parliamentary Fuel Poverty & Energy Efficiency Group (FPEEG).
The project was funded by the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) and delivered by the University of York’s Department of Social Policy and Social Work (SPSW), the Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE), Disability Rights UK and the Children’s Society.
Sue Bott, Deputy Chief Executive, Disability Rights UK said
“Too often fuel poverty is thought of as an issue that only impacts older disabled people, but the reality is that fuel poverty blights the lives of disabled people of any age: from children, to adults of working age, to older people.
“Thirty per cent of families living in poverty contain a disabled person and are at particular risk of experiencing fuel poverty. Furthermore, research has found that people living with a long-term condition aged 24-54 are 50 per cent more likely to be living in poverty than their able-bodied peers.
“The effects of fuel poverty can penetrate deep into everyday life and exacerbate existing impairments and health conditions.”
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The project has explored some of the key gaps in knowledge regarding justice in energy efficiency policy in the UK and focused on the impact of energy efficiency policies on disabled people, those with long term illnesses and low-income households with children. The project has also investigated how energy efficiency policies affect these groups, and whether policy and programme outcomes are consistent across the UK.
Research findings suggest that there is a gap between the lived experiences of fuel poverty and the policies that attempt to address it. This pervades all stages of the policy process, from the definition of fuel poverty, to the households defined as eligible for support, how these households are helped, through to the way in which this support is delivered.
The project team will launch a series of policy guides that will provide an overview of the project's key findings and how fuel poverty and energy efficiency policy and programmes should be developed in the future, and how to support vulnerable households with energy issues.
Speakers at the event include:
- Peter Aldous MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Intelligent Energy.
- Jim Watson, UKERC
- Dr Joanne Wade OBE, ACE
- Dr Carolyn Snell, University of York
- Dr Sam Royston, The Children’s Society
- Sue Bott, Disability Rights UK
If you would like to attend the event, please email tanya@ukace.org
