Based on the 2016 House Condition Survey (HCS), Northern Ireland has a rate of fuel poverty at 22%. It is also estimated that there are approximately 43,800 households in extreme fuel poverty which means they need to spend over 15% of their total income to heat their homes. Additionally, one in five households in Northern Ireland are living in relative poverty and 19% of working age adults in the private rented sector spend more than a third of their income on housing.

The Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme currently provides a payment of £140 (inclusive of VAT) towards energy bills, and also contains provisions to carry out projects to help low-income and vulnerable households to better afford their energy bill. The scheme was introduced by the Government in April 2011 and is an obligation on energy suppliers funded through bills.

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NEA Cymru welcomes the opportunity to respond to the committees inquiry in to fuel poverty and would like to thank the Committee for focusing on this important issue.

The challenge for most charities is to do remarkable things in testing circumstances. That is certainly true for NEA and the results can be seen in this report.

NEA worked with Macmillan Cancer Support to identify vulnerable households at risk of fuel poverty, living in a cold home and experiencing ill health. The fund supported the provision of energy efficiency and heating measures to householders identified as ‘in need’.

NEA believes the most pressing issue to address is a lack of adequate resource to meet the statutory energy efficiency fuel poverty requirements in England.