UK to review fuel poverty policies

The British government has appointed social policy expert John Hills to lead an independent review of its fuel poverty target and definition.

A household is currently classed as being in “fuel poverty” if it would need to spend more than 10 per cent of its income on fuel to keep a home warm enough.

“Many households have been under pressure from their heating bills this winter, some severely so because of their particular needs or difficulties in keeping their homes warm,” said Hills, who is director of the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion and Ppofessor of social policy at the London School of Economics. “It is crucial that we measure the scale of the problem and trends in it accurately.”

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