The Government has previously announced its intention to adopt a new definition of fuel poverty based on the Low Income High Costs (LIHC) framework recommended in the review by Professor John Hills. Under the new definition, a household is considered to be fuel poor based on a combination of having above average required fuel costs and being left, were they to spend that amount, with residual income below the official poverty line.
Statistics on the number of households living in fuel poverty in 2011, on this new definition, have just been published, with related data and projections for 2012 and 2013. The number of fuel poor households in England in 2011 is estimated at 2.39m, slightly lower than 2010, and likely to reflect improved energy efficiency of housing reducing energy use. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226985/fuel_poverty_report_2013.pdf
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