MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK fuel poverty expected to reach 3.5 m households

British government attempts to tackle rising energy bills were accused of being in “meltdown” as the latest figures showed a million more households slipped into fuel poverty in 2006.

Some 3.5 million UK households spent more than 10% of their income on heating and powering their homes in 2006, a million more than 2005, official figures showed. And the situation is worsening - with the Government's own projections suggesting more than 3.5 million households in England alone will be in fuel poverty this year. Ministers insisted they were committed to tackling the problem, but the new figures drew renewed calls from unions for a windfall tax on energy companies and caps on fuel bills. The number of households suffering fuel poverty in England rose from 1.5 million in 2005 to 2.4 million in 2006, and was expected to rise to 3.1 million in 2007 and top 3.5 million in 2008. Across the UK, 2.75 million vulnerable households - those with children, elderly people or someone with a long term illness - were in fuel poverty in 2006, including 1.9 million in England. The worsening situation is caused largely by spiralling gas and electricity bills, which rose 22% between 2005 and 2006 and have jumped twice this year. Energy firms have blamed the price increases on soaring wholesale costs. The rising prices are increasingly undermining Government commitments to eradicate fuel poverty - as far as reasonably practical - in all vulnerable homes in England by 2010. In response to the problem, the British Government recently pledged an extra £1 billion to tackling fuel poverty. It also upped its obligations on energy suppliers and generators, who are now required to spend £3.7 billion between now and 2011 on helping people with energy efficiency measures. But Friends of the Earth director Andy Atkins said: "The Government's fuel poverty strategy is in meltdown. The only long term solution to fuel poverty is a massive energy efficiency programme. This will heat homes, cut bills and help meet our targets for tackling climate change." Help the Aged special adviser Mervyn Kohler said the Government's response to the problem was "completely feeble".