NEA NI’s Consultation Response to the Draft Programme for Government 2024-2027, ‘Our Plan: Doing What Matters Most’
Date: 04th Nov 2024
NEA NI commends that the NI Executive has published a draft Programme for Government and we welcome the opportunity to respond to this public consultation. We recognise that the PfG is a critical mechanism for the NI Executive to coordinate and prioritise its actions and focus areas. Therefore, as a charity committed to eradicating fuel poverty, we want to ensure that the final PfG outlines actions that will effectively address the current fuel poverty crisis, increase domestic energy efficiency, and promote a just transition to net zero.
NI Fuel Poverty Crisis
The 2016 House Condition Survey (the most current official statistic) sets the NI rate of fuel poverty at 22%. However, annual polling in recent years, conducted by LucidTalk on behalf of NEA NI, has consistently found the rate to be much higher – likely reflective of significant pressures in recent years, including global energy market volatility, the post-COVID recovery, and ongoing cost-of-living crisis. In September 2024, this polling for NEA NI found that 40% of NI households are spending at least 10% of their total household expenditure on energy costs and are therefore living in fuel poverty.
The NI-wide representative survey also found that the continued pressure on household budgets has led to a continued rise in detrimental ‘coping’ mechanisms, including self-disconnection or rationing of heat. For example, 27% of households told us they went without heating (oil/gas) or electricity on at least one occasion in the last 24 months due to not being able to afford the costs of energy. This is up from 19% in September 2023. Furthermore, 1 in 10 households admitted to skipping meals or reducing their food consumption to ensure they had enough money to pay for energy. This means that choosing between heating and eating is very much a reality for over 70,000 homes in Northern Ireland.
The chilling reality is that people across NI are living in cold, damp homes – contributing to stress, debt, social isolation, poor physical and mental health, and in the most severe cases even death. This winter, even more pensioners will brace the cold due to the sudden changes in the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment, leaving a cliff-edge in support. The LucidTalk poll in September 2024 also found that 53% of people aged 65+ in NI are worried about paying for energy at present or in the coming winter.
The current prevalence of fuel poverty in NI is bleak, but there are solutions, and we at NEA NI are encouraged that the draft PfG at least refers to some of these – albeit in limited detail.
You can download the full response from the link under ‘Resources’.
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