Press Release - The Warm Front Scheme
4 February 2009
The Department of Energy and Climate Change’s Warm Front Scheme
to tackle fuel poverty in England helped to improve the energy
efficiency of over 635,000 households between June 2005 and March
2008. According to a report by the National Audit Office there
were, however, 1.9 million vulnerable households in 2006, so this
rate of progress will still leave many in fuel poverty in 2010.
Today’s report reveals that the installation of central heating
systems and insulation in homes has helped vulnerable people who
might otherwise suffer from the cold weather. Satisfaction is high,
with 86 per cent of assisted households either highly satisfied or
satisfied with the work done. The report concludes that delivery of
the Scheme has been largely effective and to that extent offers
value for money, but it has been impaired by problems in Scheme
design.
The Government’s use of proxy measures, such as benefit
entitlement, to determine who is eligible for Scheme grants is a
pragmatic approach, but it has resulted in inefficient targeting of
resources. Fifty-seven per cent of vulnerable households in fuel
poverty do not claim the relevant benefits to qualify for the
Scheme. And nearly 75 per cent of households who would qualify are
not necessarily in fuel poverty, although in practice a large
number may have fallen into or be near fuel poverty owing to recent
energy price increases. In addition, between June 2005 and March
2008 the Scheme has given £34 million in grants to households whose
properties were already comparatively energy efficient.
Most measures provided by the Scheme appear to be competitive
with industry prices, but gas and oil boiler replacement costs are
at the higher end of the range, partly because of Scheme
specifications. The grant available has not increased since 2005
and more applicants (around 25 per cent in 2007-08) are having to
contribute towards the cost of the work carried out. Some eligible
applicants are therefore withdrawing from the Scheme, or not
progressing their applications (around 20,400 households in total
as of October 2008).
Tim Burr, head of the National Audit Office, said
today:
"The Warm Front Scheme has helped to alleviate fuel
poverty in a large number of households. But despite changes
intended to improve the targeting of the Scheme, over half of
vulnerable families in fuel poverty still do not qualify, while
many households unlikely to be fuel poor are able to claim a grant.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change needs to improve the
way it assesses eligibility for the Scheme, so that the most
vulnerable households are the first to receive the assistance they
need."
Notes for Editors:
- The Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act (2000) requires the
Government to ensure that, as far as reasonably practicable, people
do not live in fuel poverty. Following the Act, the UK Fuel Poverty
Strategy, issued in November 2001, detailed the targets to
eradicate fuel poverty across England, as far as reasonably
practicable, in vulnerable households by 2010 and in all households
by 2016.
- Three factors contribute to fuel poverty: low household income;
high fuel prices; and poor energy efficiency. Warm Front is a key
programme of the Department of Energy and Climate Change to tackle
fuel poverty by improving energy efficiency in privately owned
properties in England. The Department relies upon a contractor,
eaga, to administer the Scheme on its behalf and to manage the 139
contractors, including seven wholly owned subsidiaries, responsible
for the installation of heating and insulation measures. This
report follows up earlier NAO examinations of the Scheme in 1998
and 2003 and focuses on the extent to which the Scheme has helped
those in fuel poverty, the costs of the work done, and the
Department’s management of the contract.
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website, which is at www.nao.org.uk. Hard
copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702
3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Tim Burr, is the head of
the National Audit Office which employs some 850 staff. He and the
NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 06/09
All enquiries to Barry Lester
NAO Press Office: Tel: 020 7798 7937
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