Better homes ‘key to ending fuel poverty’

Published on 04/09/2012 00:00

EFFORTS must be increased to end fuel poverty by focusing on improving people’s homes, according to an academic.

Dr Brenda Boardman, who coined the term “fuel poverty” in a 1991 book, said she had seen the trend – households spending at least 10 per cent of income on fuel – increase in recent years.

Dr Boardman, of Oxford University, spoke as a conference on the subject got under way in Edinburgh. She said: “It’s a combination of rising fuel prices and inefficient homes. There’s a limited amount the government can do about prices, but they can focus on energy efficiency.”