YU.11.5 1000 words Blog

School of Social Policy - Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology

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1903116 Programme and

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MA Migration

Studies FT

Module Title LM Poverty, Wealth, and

Inequality

Word Count 1099

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Hand in date 24/10/2023 Extension date

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The Cold, Hard Truth: Fuel Poverty Will Kill Pensioners This Winter

Last year, Boris Johnson sparked national outrage when he responded unempathetically to

Elsie’s story (Spirlet, 2022; Good Morning Britain, 2022). Elsie, a 77-year-old woman, had

resorted to taking day-long bus journeys to keep warm and avoid running up her unaffordable

energy bills, after they soared from around £17 per month to £85 per month (Good Morning

Britain, 2022).

But why did Elsie’s story resonate so hard with the British public? Well, estimations indicate

that around 6.3 million UK households – including around 2.8 million older UK households -

currently face fuel poverty (National Energy Action, 2023; Age UK, 2022). Elsie represents

just one of millions of UK pensioners affected by fuel poverty (Age UK, 2022). With the

ongoing cost of living crisis, volatile energy market (Gallizzi, 2023), speculation over Number

10’s position on winter fuel allowances – which entitle pensioners between £250 and £600 to

help with their bills (Mason et al, 2023) - and a cold winter ahead, I examine the

disproportionate extent of fuel poverty amongst the over-65’s and caution the consequences.

What is fuel poverty?

Fuel poverty means ‘a household is unable to afford to heat (or cool) their home to an adequate

temperature’ (End Fuel Poverty Coalition, 2023). Whilst there is no single approach to

measuring fuel poverty (Moore, 2012), Boardman’s (1991) influential definition – adopted by

the Welsh, Scottish, and Northern Irish governments, and major fuel poverty charities -

stipulates that if a household is required to spend over 10% of its income on energy bills, it is

in fuel poverty. Adopting Boardman’s metric, National Energy Action (2023) estimates 6.3

million UK households are currently facing fuel poverty. The English government uses a

different metric – the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (or ‘LILEE’ indicator) – which

estimates only 3.26 million UK households faced fuel poverty last year (Department for Energy

Security and Net Zero, 2023). Importantly, however, as Age UK’s Director aptly puts it, the

LILEE metric significantly underestimates the scale of fuel poverty in Britain (Abrahams,

2023).

Fuel poverty is quickly becoming a key, distinctive, direct ‘manifestation of social inequality’

and poverty in modern Britain (Crossley et al, 2019; Walker and Day, 2012, p.69). Fuel poverty

is one of many coinciding and interacting ‘fragments’ of poverty that those living in poverty

will likely face (Crossley et al, 2019, p.17).

Why does fuel poverty affect pensioners?

Whilst some research argues that the high numbers of pensioners in fuel poverty is relative to

the large number of pensioner households in Britain (Keung and Bradshaw, 2023), a host of

studies highlight pensioners’ increased risk of facing fuel poverty (UCL Institute of Health

Equity, 2014; Robinson et al, 2018; Lee et al, 2022). Last year, Age UK (2022) estimated that

3 in 10 pensioner households in England were in fuel poverty.

But why do so many pensioners face fuel poverty? There are three main drivers of fuel poverty:

low household income, the cost of energy, and the energy efficiency of a home and

subsequently its household energy requirements (Walker and Day, 2012). In line with this,

some research hypothesises that fuel poverty disproportionately affects pensioners for a

number of reasons, including: the low thermal efficiency of older homes; pensioners’ lack of

digital access to research and change energy providers; and pensioners’ susceptibility to the

cold resulting in greater energy requirements (Wright, 2004). Nonetheless, the fundamental

reason why fuel poverty disproportionately affects pensioners is because of low state pensions

in contrast to soaring energy prices.

The average pensioner is entitled to between £150.25 and £178.52 per week (Charlseworth,

2022). That’s around half of what someone on minimum wage would take away weekly (ibid).

According to the Office for National Statistics (2023a), the average pensioner spends £24.90

on their gas and electricity bills – around 15% of their weekly income - on fuel payments, with

reports speculating they may spend even more (Woodcock, 2022). Obviously, this isn’t the

case for every pensioner, with evidence showing a socioeconomic gradient of fuel poverty; the

poorest pensioners are the worst affected (Hills, 2011).

Fuel poverty creates a tough financial predicament, forcing pensioners to make difficult

decisions about their spending. Many pensioners face a tough trade-off between ‘heating or

eating’ (Abdi et al, 2021; Hills, 2011, p.61). The majority of pensioners, aware of the

potentially fatal consequences of having a cold home, prioritise spending on energy bills, as

shown in Figure 1 (Abdi et al, 2021). This means they have less to spend on other basic

necessities such as food and clothing, and may, for instance, then rely on a food bank for

sustenance. Other pensioners, like Elsie, who simply can’t afford their energy bills, have to

find alternative, cheap solutions to keep warm or switch off their heating completely.

How does fuel poverty affect pensioners?

Pensioners consciously reducing their energy bills by switching off their heating has a

significant detrimental effect on their overall health. Whilst other vulnerable groups face fuel

poverty (Keung and Bradshaw, 2023), pensioners’ health and vitality are the worst affected

amongst these groups (Lee et al, 2022). Partially exacerbated by their susceptibility to the cold

(Wright, 2004) and their pre-existing health conditions (Wilkinson et al, 2004), pensioners in

fuel poverty suffer a spectrum of serious health-related consequences, including:

• Increased blood pressure

• Strokes

Data pulled from Abdi et al (2021).

4%

41%

34%

19%

2%

Figure 1. Opinion Poll Amonst Pensioners: "I Prioritise Energy

Bills Over Other Basic Necessities.'

Very Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Very Strongly Disagree

• Influenza

• Heightened symptoms of arthritis

• Respiratory problems

• Circulatory problems

• Increased occurrence of falls and injuries, and

• Psychological distress and poor mental health

(UCL Institute of Health Equity, 2014; Mould and Baker, 2017).

And, even more tragically, fuel poverty is fatal for many pensioners (Wilkinson et al, 2004).

In the UK, excess winter deaths – which are heavily attributable to fuel poverty and cold homes

(Lee et al, 2022) – are prevalent amongst pensioners. As presented in Figure 2, a huge majority

of those affected by excess winter deaths are pensioners, particularly those aged 85 to 89

(Office for National Statistics, 2023b). On average, pensioner mortality rates increase 30% in

the winter months (Wilkinson et al, 2004). Last winter, there were an estimated 4,706 excess

winter deaths due to fuel poverty in Britain (End Fuel Poverty Coalition, 2023) with forecasts

projecting an increase this winter (Ambrose, 2023).

Devastatingly, the cold, hard truth is that millions of pensioners will suffer – and thousands die

- because they can’t afford to turn on their heating this winter. Whilst the entrenched nature of

poverty means we can’t curb these projections, we can – and must – lobby the government to

commit to protecting winter fuel payments, (38 Degrees, 2023) and urge pensioners to claim

their winter fuel payments to reduce preventable illnesses & excess deaths amongst pensioners

this winter.

Data pulled from the Office for National Statistics (2023)

Note: The Winter Mortality Index is calculated by comparing average winter deaths to

average non-winter deaths, expressed as a percentage.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

0 to 74 years 75 to 79 years 80 to 84 years 85 to 89 years 90 years and over

W in

te r

M o rt

al it

y In

d ex

Age Group

Figure 2. Winter Mortality Rates in England and Wales

Between 2021 and 2022 (Presented by Age Group)

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