Professor John Hills' report on fuel poverty (March 2012, DECC) found that the problem of fuel poverty was being measured in the wrong way. Proper measurement is integral in designing effective polices to counter fuel poverty. This consultation looks at changing the approach to measurement (currently based on whether a household would need to spend more than 10% of its income on energy to keep warm). Section 1 sets out the background to the Hills Review and summarises its main findings. Section 2 focuses on the proposal for a new definition (the Low Income High Costs indicator) and also covers the recommended changes to the methodology used to calculate the fuel poverty statistics. The proposed changes raises questions about how a new definition fits with t he current target, which is set out in the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000. Section 3 of this paper considers whether the definition and target should be aligned and how to achieve that. Finally, section 4 considers next steps. The Government intends to publish a refreshed fuel poverty strategy early in 2013 incorporating the new definition.

Since its publication in the early 90s, Brenda Boardman's Fuel Poverty has been the reference text for those wishing to learn about this complex subject. In this, its successor, she turns a critical eye to the new millennium and finds that the situation, while now more widely recognised, is far from having improved. The book begins by discussing the political awakening to the issue and exploring just who constitutes the fuel poor. It examines the factors that contribute to fuel poverty - low incomes, high fuel prices and poor quality housing - and looks at and evaluates the policies that have been employed to help reduce the problem. The latter part presents a detailed set of proposals based around long-term improvements in the housing stock that must be employed if we are to avoid a dire situation continuing to get worse. Based on detailed analysis of the situation in the UK, the growth of fuel poverty (sometimes called energy poverty) in other countries and the new focus in European policy makes the book timely and provides important lessons for those who now have to produce policies to tackle the issues.

Urban Fuel Poverty describes key approaches to defining and alleviating fuel poverty in cities using a multidisciplinary perspective and multiple case studies. It provides empirical knowledge on the levels and intensities of energy poverty in urban areas, along with new theoretical perspectives in conceptualizing the multidimensionality of energy poverty, with special focus given to the urban environment. Chapters discuss what energy poverty is in terms of taxonomy, stakeholders and affected parties, addressing the role of the economy and energy bills, the role of climate and city factors, the role of buildings, and the health and psychological impact on fuel poverty. The book addresses how to measure energy poverty, how to map it, and how to draw conclusions based on illness and social indicators. Finally, it explores measures to ‘fight’ fuel poverty, including policy and governance actions, building efficiency improvements and city planning. Bridges interdisciplinary divides between policy and economy, cities and buildings, and health and society Addresses the physical performance of urban fuel poverty and their effect on thermal comfort and human health Provides strategies and policies to mitigate energy and fuel poverty

This open access book aims to consolidate and advance debates on European and global energy poverty by exploring the political and infrastructural drivers and implications of the condition across a variety of spatial scales. It highlights the need for a geographical conceptualization of the different ways in which household-level energy deprivation both influences and is contingent upon disparities occurring at a wider range of spatial scales. There is a strong focus on the relationships among energy transformation, institutional change and place-based factors in determining the nature and location of energy-related injustices. The book also explores how patterns and structures of energy poverty have changed over time, as evidenced by some of the common measures used to describe the condition. In part, this means investigating the makeup of energy poor demographics across various social and spatial cleavages. More broadly, it also argues that energy sector reconfigurations are both reflected in and shaped by various domains of social and political organization, especially in terms of creating poverty-relevant outcomes.

Available online via SciVerse ScienceDirect, or in print for a limited time only, The International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home, Seven Volume Set is the first international reference work for housing scholars and professionals, that uses studies in economics and finance, psychology, social policy, sociology, anthropology, geography, architecture, law, and other disciplines to create an international portrait of housing in all its facets: from meanings of home at the microscale, to impacts on macro-economy. This comprehensive work is edited by distinguished housing expert Susan J. Smith, together with Marja Elsinga, Ong Seow Eng, Lorna Fox O'Mahony and Susan Wachter, and a multi-disciplinary editorial team of 20 world-class scholars in all. Working at the cutting edge of their subject, liaising with an expert editorial advisory board, and engaging with policy-makers and professionals, the editors have worked for almost five years to secure the quality, reach, relevance and coherence of this work. A broad and inclusive table of contents signals (or tesitifes to) detailed investigation of historical and theoretical material as well as in-depth analysis of current issues. This seven-volume set contains over 500 entries, listed alphabetically, but grouped into seven thematic sections including methods and approaches; economics and finance; environments; home and homelessness; institutions; policy; and welfare and well-being. Housing professionals, both academics and practitioners, will find The International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home useful for teaching, discovery, and research needs. International in scope, engaging with trends in every world region The editorial board and contributors are drawn from a wide constituency, collating expertise from academics, policy makers, professionals and practitioners, and from every key center for housing research Every entry stands alone on its merits and is accessed alphabetically, yet each is fully cross-referenced, and attached to one of seven thematic categories whose ‘wholes' far exceed the sum of their parts

Energy Poverty and Vulnerability provides novel and critical perspectives on the drivers and consequences of energy-related injustices in the home. Drawing together original research conducted by leading experts, the book offers fresh and innovative insights into the ways in which hitherto unexplored factors such as cultural norms, environmental conditions and household needs combine to shape vulnerability to energy poverty. Chapters 1 and 15 of this book are freely available as downloadable Open Access PDFs at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.