One in eight Scarborough homes ‘are suffering from fuel poverty’

Charity National Energy Action says 10,000 people in the UK lose their lives to a cold home each year, and that “we should be more alert than ever” to the problem’s health impact amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Data from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) shows that 12% of the 51,733 households in Scarborough faced energy bills that pushed them into poverty in 2018 – the most recent year for which figures are available.

It means 6,237 of households in the area were fuel poor. Across Yorkshire and The Humber, 10% of households could not afford their bills in 2018. A household is considered to be fuel poor if their energy costs are above the national median, and if meeting those costs would push them below the poverty line.

The 236,000 fuel poor households in Yorkshire and The Humber were, on average, £297 short of being able to afford their energy bills each year, according to BEIS figures.

Projections show the gap was likely to have been even higher in 2019, at £354, with 10.4% of homes in fuel poverty last year.

The Government has set targets to improve the energy efficiency of buildings.

Adam Scorer, chief executive of National Energy Action, said the Government should take further steps to avoid a “deadly collision” between the virus and fuel poverty-related mortality amid a possible second outbreak this winter.

He added: “Every year around 10,000 people die directly as a result of a cold home. Many thousands more who cannot afford to keep their homes warm are hospitalised, suffer from a severe respiratory condition or just shiver in damp, cold homes.”

A BEIS spokeswoman said: “No-one should be cold in their own home. That is why we are protecting all households from rip-off deals with our energy price cap, improving the energy efficiency of low-income households and giving extra money to pensioners during the winter.”