Fuel poverty figures reveal over 7 million household struggling with energy bills

EMBARGO: For Immediate Release

New fuel poverty statistics have revealed millions of households are struggling to afford their energy bills.

The government's annual Fuel Poverty Report showed there were an estimated 3.26 million households (13.4%) in fuel poverty in England in 2022, which is expected to rise to 3.5 million in 2023. A staggering 7.39 million (30.3%) of households in England had to spend more than 10% of income on energy costs in 2022, up from 4.93 million (20.5%) in 2021.

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to scrap its plans to increase average energy bills by £500 in April, and instead cut bills funded through a proper windfall tax.

Responding to the news, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

"These stark figures show milions of families and pensioners are struggling to afford sky-high energy bills.

"It beggars belief that the Conservatives are plannng to worsen this cost of living catastrophe by hiking people's energy bills by another £500 in April.

“People in fuel poverty need support without delay. We need to cut energy bills and expand support for the most vulnerable, funded through a proper windfall tax on oil and gas giants making record profits."

ENDS

Notes to Editor

Annual fuel poverty statistics available here.

Liberal Democrat Energy Rescue Package

• Instead of the Conservatives’ plan to hike the energy price guarantee by £500, the Liberal Democrats want to scrap the bill hike and reduce the average energy bill to £1,971 - the level it was last April. This would save the average household an estimated £400 on their energy bills over the next 12 months.
• For the least well-off households, the Liberal Democrats want extra targeted support, including doubling the Warm Homes Discount to £300.
• The party is also calling on the government to U-turn on its plans to slash energy bill support for businesses, schools and hospitals by 85%, and instead extend current levels of support for another six months.
• The Liberal Democrat plan would mostly be funded through money already budgeted for energy support, but now unspent due to falling energy prices.
• Additional funds would be raised by a proper windfall tax on the record profits of oil and gas companies, including scrapping the fossil fuel investment loophole and raising the rate of the windfall tax from 35% to 40%.
• This could raise at least £15 billion more than the government’s current Energy Profits Levy.