Scottish Government

Indicators of Sustainable Development for Scotland

Indicator 20. Fuel Poverty

Total number of households living in fuel poverty

Households living in fuel poverty in 1996 by National Home Energy Rating (NHER)

Source: 1996 Scottish House Condition Survey

Notes: NHER is based on the total energy costs per square metre of floor area required to achieve a standard heating regime. The NHER of a property is assessed on a scale of 0-10 with ranges of: poor 0-2, moderate 3-7 and good 8-10.

The relevance of the indicator

Sustainable communities are those where people can afford to keep adequately warm at a reasonable cost. We are committed to tackling the energy inefficiency which causes fuel poverty.

Choice of indicator

This is the indicator used in the Scottish Fuel Poverty Statement⁴⁵ published under the terms of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 in August 2002 and the UK Fuel Poverty Statement published in November 2001.

Detailed definition and source details

The definition that we have adopted for the purpose of the commitment to end fuel poverty by 2016 is:

A household is in fuel poverty if, in order to maintain a satisfactory heating regime, it would be required to spend more than 10% of its income (including Housing Benefit or Income Support for Mortgage Interest) on all household fuel use.

We will also monitor changes in the numbers of people in fuel poverty using a definition of household income which excludes Housing Benefit and Income Support for Mortgage Interest.

Within the definition the following explanations apply:

Satisfactory heating regime - the levels are those recommended by the World Health Organisation. For elderly and infirm households, this is 23° C in the living room and 18° C in other rooms, to be achieved for 16 hours in every 24. For other households, this is 21° C in the living room and 18° C in other rooms for a period of 9 hours in every 24 (or 16 in 24 over the weekend); with two hours being in the morning and seven hours in the evening.

Household income - income before housing costs, to mirror the definition used in the UK Households Below Average Income (HBAI) Statistics.

Further information on the definition is included in the Scottish Fuel Poverty Statement. The only available data are those collected in the 1996 Scottish House Condition Survey.

Trends

In 1996, there were 738,000 households in fuel poverty in Scotland. Since 1996, there have been a number of developments at both UK and Scottish level which are likely to have had an impact on the overall number of households in fuel poverty in Scotland. Once the results of the 2002 Scottish House Condition Survey become available in late 2003, it will be possible to quantify the impact that these measures have had. The Scottish Fuel Poverty Statement sets out the various changes and measures which are likely to have resulted in a reduction in the number of households in Fuel Poverty.

Further disaggregation

Further disaggregation of the 1996 data from the Scottish House Condition Survey is available in the Scottish Fuel Poverty Statement, including by household type, by tenure, by the energy efficiency of the housing stock and by income.

Target

To end fuel poverty in Scotland by 2016.

Action

We are working with local authorities, the energy companies and voluntary organisations to tackle fuel poverty through a range of activities, including:

• developing knowledge about the nature and extent of fuel poverty and the impact of particular interventions;

• working with statutory, voluntary and private sector organisations to raise awareness of fuel poverty and the ways in which it can be addressed;

• investing in housing improvement measures through Scottish Executive programmes such as the Central Heating Programme, the Warm Deal and community ownership and through work with the energy companies and local authorities through the Energy Efficiency Commitment and Community Energy Partnerships;

• improving energy efficiency measures in new housing stock through the building regulations and through the development and promotion of new technology;

• developing partnership working and local co-ordination to ensure that programmes are delivered effectively to those who can benefit from them and the maximum value is obtained from the overall investment.

More is said about our forward work programme in the Scottish Fuel Poverty Statement and the Fuel Poverty Advisory Group, which includes the main organisations with an interest in fuel poverty, will work with us to develop and implement the work programme.