Don't slash investment in warmer homes says Sussex fuel poverty group

A local fuel poverty group has condemned reported government plans to make deep cuts in the funding available to improve the energy efficiency of UK homes, noting that doing so would 'leave millions trapped in homes that make them ill, break a manifesto promise and sabotage the UK's climate goals'.

According to a report last week in the Guardian, the Chancellor 'is particularly looking at reducing or eliminating the energy company obligation [ECO], under which energy firms help pay for home improvement measures such as insulation and new heating schemes', in order to fund short-term bill reductions.

Local community benefit society Energise Sussex Coast notes that this would mean cutting up to 40% from Britain’s £21.7bn insulation and retrofit budget for the next five years, dismantling the very programmes that actually bring bills down for good.

In doing so it would be repeating the errors of the Cameron-Clegg coalition government, whose 2013 decision to cut 'green crap' climate policies has been calculated to have added £22bn to people's energy bills over the past decade.

In a letter to the Chancellor last week, Citizens Advice, Age UK and the End Fuel Poverty Coalition note that a major national energy efficiency programme is 'critical to lowering energy costs, enhancing energy security, and boosting the economy, with the potential to deliver growth comparable to London’s Elizabeth Line' and that the proposed cuts would 'have a damaging impact on the supply chain in an industry that is worth around £20 billion and supports over 100,000 jobs'.

Founded in 2012, local community benefit cooperative Energise Sussex Coast works to tackle the climate crisis and energy injustice through community-owned renewable power and energy-saving schemes. It runs a free Energy Advice service to help local residents bring down the cost of their electricity, gas and water bills: 01424 390 062.

Last year, it responded to over 9,700 calls to its helpline and distributed over £90,000 in fuel vouchers.

Cold, damp homes are driving poor health, rising energy debt and record NHS pressures. In addition, heating the UK’s 28 million homes accounted for 18% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, the most recent year for which data are available – making energy efficiency and low-carbon heating essential to UK climate goals.

Energise Sussex Coast's director Kate Meakin said: 'As a community group that's spent over a decade trying to get government energy efficiency schemes to work for local people – with much frustration and some notable successes – we know that when retrofit is done well, it works: homes are warmer, bills are lower and families are healthier. Instead, the proposed cuts would leave millions trapped in homes that make them ill, break a manifesto promise and sabotage the UK's climate goals. It is entirely possible for the Government to help reduce energy bills – through changes to our electricity pricing system, real reform to standing charges and using public investment to help fund grid upgrades – but it must not be done by sacrificing long-term investment in warmer, safer homes.'