Our Poorest are Missing Out on Fuel Grants

Over half of Britain's poorest households are ineligible for help from an £852m scheme to cut fuel bills with grants for home insulation and heating, a report from the National Audit Office reveals today

The report discloses that £34m has been given to people who already have energy-efficient homes and are comparatively well off.

The report on the Warm Front Scheme run by the Department of Energy and Climate Change says that the problem is caused by complicated rules that disqualify many of the 1.9 million poorest households from getting a grant.

This is because most of those eligible people receive pension credit, but because 2.1 million people eligible for the benefit never claim it, they do not qualify.
The Warm Front grants can be worth up to £4,000 to install a new central heating system, and the average payment is £1,800.

Other people eligible for the grant include those on disability living allowance and attendance allowance, war pensioners, income support and working tax credit claimants, so long as they are seriously disabled.

The wealthier households benefit from £300 in vouchers given to anybody over 60 who is without a working central heating system. The auditors discovered that many of these houses were energy efficient and the claimants were not in fuel poverty.

So far 635,000 households have benefited between 2005 and 2008, but the NAO estimates it will take up to 2010 before the rest benefit. More efficient insulation and home heating can save households an average of £300 a year.

The huge rise in fuel bills recently has also brought more people into fuel poverty. It is now estimated that the number of households needing help has risen from 1.9 million at the time the scheme was launched in 2005 to Over half of Britain's poorest households are ineligible for help from an £852m scheme to cut fuel bills with grants for home insulation and heating, a report from the National Audit Office reveals today.

The report discloses that £34m has been given to people who already have energy-efficient homes and are comparatively well off. The report on the Warm Front Scheme run by the Department of Energy and Climate Change says that the mismatch is caused by complex eligibility rules that mean many of the 1.9 million poorest households cannot get a grant.

The reason is that most of those eligible people must be on pension credit - but, given that 2.1 million people eligible for pension credit never claim it, they cannot apply. The grants can be worth up to £4,000 to install a new central heating system, and average at £1,800. Other people eligible include those on disability living allowance and attendance allowance, war pensioners, income support and working tax credit claimants, so long as they are seriously disabled.

The wealthier households benefit from £300 in vouchers given to anybody over 60 who is without a working central heating system. The auditors discovered that many of these houses were energy efficient and the claimants were not in fuel poverty.

So far 635,000 households have benefited between 2005 and 2008, but the NAO estimates it will take up to 2010 before the rest benefit. More efficient insulation and home heating can save households an average of £300 a year.

The huge rise in fuel bills recently was also making more people fall into fuel poverty. It is now estimated that 3.1 million households need help, up from 1.9 million at the time the scheme was launched in 2005.

Over half of Britain's poorest households are ineligible for help from an £852m scheme to cut fuel bills with grants for home insulation and heating, a report from the National Audit Office reveals today.

The report discloses that £34m has been given to people who already have energy-efficient homes and are comparatively well off. The report on the Warm Front Scheme run by the Department of Energy and Climate Change says that the mismatch is caused by complex eligibility rules that mean many of the 1.9 million poorest households cannot get a grant.

The reason is that most of those eligible people must be on pension credit - but, given that 2.1 million people eligible for pension credit never claim it, they cannot apply. The grants can be worth up to £4,000 to install a new central heating system, and average at £1,800. Other people eligible include those on disability living allowance and attendance allowance, war pensioners, income support and working tax credit claimants, so long as they are seriously disabled.

The wealthier households benefit from £300 in vouchers given to anybody over 60 who is without a working central heating system. The auditors discovered that many of these houses were energy efficient and the claimants were not in fuel poverty.

So far 635,000 households have benefited between 2005 and 2008, but the NAO estimates it will take up to 2010 before the rest benefit. More efficient insulation and home heating can save households an average of £300 a year.

The huge rise in fuel bills recently was also making more people fall into fuel poverty. It is now estimated that 3.1 million households need help, up from 1.9 million at the time the scheme was launched in 2005 to 3.1 million.

The grants have not been increased for four years, and now a quarter of the claimants have to supplement the grant from their own resources. As a result some 20,000 people have pulled out.

Tim Burr, the head of the National Audit Office, said: "The department 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.

>Edward Leigh, the Conservative chairman of the Commons public accounts committee, said that the fact that over half of those in need were ineligible was "a serious shortcoming of the scheme [and] of great concern in the current severe winter."

Les Bonner Blog, 4th February 2009