Fuel poverty, defined as needing to spend 10% or more of a household’s gross income on fuel to achieve an adequate level of heating. In all 4,431 households in Crawley are identified as currently suffering from fuel poverty, 10% of the town’s total population.
While the rising cost of energy over the last two years has clearly had an impact upon the numbers struggling to afford heating, even before the war 7% of the tow’s households were in a state of fuel poverty.
This has real-world impacts. Of the 160 excess deaths in Crawley captured by the most recent winter we have figures for, 48 were directly attributed to people living in a cold home. Clearly, far greater numbers beyond this are experiencing ill-health and poorer day-to-day wellbeing as a direct result of the cost of heating.
Part of this comes down to inaction. The scaling back by the Conservatives of efforts to put houses on a greener energy footprint has not only put the country back in meeting our carbon reduction goals, but resulted in far higher energy costs for consumers.
Crawley has reecived zero support from the government’s Home Upgrade Grant scheme, a below average number of households are receving the Warm Homes Discount, and only 207 energy efficiency measures have been installed through the government’s flagship fuel poverty reduction scheme, 42% below what the town would have received if the funding was distributed proportionately.
As a country, we need a strategy for putting to an end profiteering by the energy companies, putting more money back into people’s pockets through economic growth, and putting in the green insulating measures which will benefit both homeowners and the planet. Only Labour has the policies to deliver on all three.
Peter Lamb for Crawley 