Legal challenge over fuel poverty

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Two charities are taking legal action against the government for not doing enough to help people hit by rising fuel prices.

Friends of the Earth and Help the Aged are bringing the joint legal challenge to end "the misery of fuel poverty".

They also want the government to improve domestic energy efficiency and to tackle climate change.

The government aims to end fuel poverty - where bills cost over 10% of income - within vulnerable homes by 2010.

Statutory targets

The government has statutory targets to eradicate fuel poverty as far as reasonably practical among vulnerable households in England by 2010, and all households in England by 2016.

Recent energy price rises have pushed the number of fuel poor in England to an estimated 2.3 million households.

The two charities are filing their judicial review application - the legal procedure used to challenge public authorities - at the High Court.

At home I will put on a fleece before putting on the heating and if there is something on the radio then I lie in bed in the evening to keep warm Christine HewittPensioner They say the government has failed to provide a comprehensive plan to meet its targets and failed to set a minimum standard of energy efficiency for the affected households.

Ed Matthew, of Friends of the Earth, said the government's strategy was incompetent and lacked vision.

"By failing to back the highest levels of energy efficiency in the homes of the fuel poor, the government has missed an opportunity to both end fuel poverty and bring down carbon emissions," he said.

There has also been criticism of the government from the independent Fuel Poverty Advisory Group.

It said progress had been made to help the vulnerable, but more could have been done for those in financial difficulty.

Christine Hewitt, 62, is a widow who lives in a council flat in Prudhoe, Northumberland.

With just over £124 to spend a week, she says she tries not to be at home when it is cold to reduce her heating bills.

"I use my free bus pass to get to the library or the Metro Centre which is large and warm.

"At home I will put on a fleece before putting on the heating and if there is something on the radio then I lie in bed in the evening to keep warm."

Christine says the government should be doing more to help older people who live on a budget with their fuel bills.

"The older you get the more you want to put the heating on but most old people don't have the access to a computer to see the deals which can stretch their money further," she said.

'Strong measures'

A Defra spokesperson said the target to end fuel poverty within vulnerable households by 2010 was challenging, in part, because of high fuel prices.

"But we believe that we have a strong package of measures in place to tackle fuel poverty.

"For example, the Warm Front Scheme and Winter Fuel Payments inject money directly into vulnerable households where help is really needed to make homes warmer and more energy efficient."

The spokesperson said the government had also placed an obligation on energy suppliers to promote energy efficiency measures to households.

"It is expected that around £1.5bn will be directed to low-income and elderly consumers over the three years of this programme."