Action urged to tackle fuel poverty
More households will be pushed into fuel poverty without "radical action" by the Government, a new report has warned.
The Government's Fuel Poverty Advisory Group said a clear plan should be set out to meet the target of eradicating fuel poverty by 2016.
The report said fuel poverty levels were now more than three times the rate of five years ago and existing measures were inadequate to deal with the scale of the problem.
Chairman Derek Lickorish said: "Energy prices are going to become even more of an issue as the cost of tackling carbon emissions grows, unemployment rises and the energy market remains volatile.
"The measures in place to deal with fuel poverty now are simply inadequate to tackle the rise that this cocktail of issues could create.
"Unless fuel poverty is tackled head on, many hundreds of thousands more vulnerable pensioners, families and disabled people will struggle to afford their energy bills. A thorough strategy, with decisive action on social tariffs and energy efficiency, is needed from the Government to help lift the poorest households out of fuel poverty."
The group estimated that more than four million households in England are in fuel poverty, defined as being when more than 10% of a household income is spent on energy.
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