Fuel poverty to reach almost three quarters of households in NI by January 2023

A new study by the University of York has highlighted vast regional disparities in the percentage of households facing fuel poverty as the cost of living crisis continues to spiral. Northern Ireland (NI) is set to be the region hardest hit by rising fuel and energy costs, with an expected 72 per cent of households living in fuel poverty by January 2023; a figure which sits in staggering contrast to neighbouring regions such as London and the South East of England, where a much lower estimate of 48 per cent of households are expected to be living in fuel poverty next year.

A number of perennial factors can be attributed to NI’s higher figure; however, the absence of a functioning government is the most glaringly obvious. Without an executive in place, the reallocation of funds from the block grant cannot be repurposed to mitigate the worst impacts of this crisis without collective agreement from the NI Executive itself. While caretaker ministers have some powers to reallocate departmental budgets, tinkering around the edges will be insufficient given the current context.

In addition to this, NI’s existing Fuel Poverty Strategy is a document that is no longer fit for purpose; published in 2011, it is now over ten years old and does not account for the current rise in oil and gas prices and our new climate commitments. Right now, NI is the only region in the UK without a proper policy response to the current crisis unfolding despite urgent calls from the housing and associated sectors for immediate action. Without decision makers in place and measures to mitigate the worst of this crisis implemented, many homes will face a very cold winter.

In comparison to the rest of the UK, ambitious targets for the retrofitting of properties (across all housing tenures) are lacking. NI, despite planning for tighter building standards following the recent publication of ‘The Path to Net Zero’, recognises that the existing stock will need retrofitting at the rate of 50,000 a year, yet so far only pilot schemes have been carried out. Current targets for the private rented sector in England, Scotland and Wales, as just one example, are that all properties should reach EPC C by 2028, with new properties achieving it by 2025. No such targets are in place here. The benefit of investing in, and implementing, alternative heat sources which meet the needs of both new-build and retrofit properties will financially benefit tens of thousands of households in NI helping to keep homes warmer for less.

NI is also lagging behind in equipping its workforce to meet the current skills gap to carry out this work. Despite the enormity of the task, the decarbonisation of our housing stock provides us with great opportunities – not least to provide comfortable and affordable homes for communities here. By creating new green jobs and apprenticeships, we can grow our economy and make the jobs market more attractive to those who have left NI to seek employment elsewhere.

It goes without saying that the forecast for low to medium income households is particularly bleak. We urgently need a robust policy response to what tenants and communities are facing now and what they are expected to face this winter.