A paper has examined the earliest formulations of the concept of ‘fuel poverty’, focusing in particular on the 10 per cent ‘needed to spend’ threshold first advanced in 1991. The authors argue that understanding more about the origins of this threshold helps to explain why fuel poverty targets in the United Kingdom have not subsequently been reached.

The paper:

• traces the earliest formulation of the concept to 1991 (in Brenda Boardman, Fuel Poverty: From Cold Homes to Affordable Warmth, Belhaven Press)
• explores regional disparities in fuel poverty, highlighting the extent to which rigid adherence to a 10 per cent threshold has created an ‘unstable regional mosaic’ of over-estimation and under-estimation
• argues that there are now strong grounds for reassessing the threshold, and equally strong grounds for adjusting the threshold on a more regular basis in the future. The authors provide an evidence-based rationale for adopting regional thresholds for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The full paper (Christine Liddell, Chris Morris, Paul McKenzie and Gordon Rae, Measuring and Monitoring Fuel Poverty in the UK: National and Regional Perspectives, University of Ulster) is available on the University of Ulster website. A version of the paper has also been published in the peer-reviewed journal Energy Policy: an abstract is available.