Publications

15 March 2012: Professor John Hills has today published the final report of his independent review of fuel poverty:

• Getting the measure of fuel poverty: final report of the Fuel Poverty Review
• Getting the measure of fuel poverty: summary and recommendations
• Getting the measure of fuel poverty: executive summary
• Data used to produce charts for the final report of the Fuel Poverty Review
• John Hills Press Notice: Independent review projects fuel poverty to worsen and calls for reinvigorated strategy
• DECC press notice: Independent review on Fuel Poverty final report published
• Written Ministerial Statement on the publication by Professor Hills of the final report of his independent review of fuel poverty
• Professor Hills’ presentation on the final report

The report builds on the analysis in his interim report which was published in October last year and sets out that:

• A new approach is necessary for measuring fuel poverty in order to accurately reflect the underlying drivers of the problem
• This new approach delivers a number of ways of identifying fuel poor households, by looking at both the extent of the problem and it’s severity
• Interventions targeted at the core of the problem, especially those that improve the energy efficiency of homes lived in by people with low incomes, can make a substantial difference
• Without action, the numbers of fuel poor households are set to rise, regardless of how they are measured, however, policies can have a positive impact on fuel poverty

Both Professor Hills and his team are extremely grateful to all those stakeholders and individuals who took the time and effort to contribute to the review process.

Professor Hills said:

“It is clear to me that fuel poverty is a serious social problem and I hope that the findings of the review are useful to Government and Stakeholders in making a difference to those affected by fuel poverty.”

Following the launch of the final report, the Review team is no longer in place. Enquiries regarding the review can be made either to DECC at: correspondence@decc.gsi.gov.uk or to the LSE at:
j.dickson@lse.ac.uk 

19 October 2011: Professor John Hills published the interim report of his independent review of fuel poverty on 19 October 2011.

The report sets out:

• that fuel poverty is a serious and distinct problem affecting millions of people in England
• that measuring fuel poverty accurately matters
• that the existing definition of fuel poverty has some strengths but some serious weaknesses
• a new approach to measuring fuel poverty, based on the overlap between low income and unreasonable costs and a fuel poverty gap, shows how badly affected households are.
   

• Read the full report
• Read the executive summary
• Data relating to interim report
• Read the press release about the report
• Presentation of interim report

The report also includes questions for consultation. The consultation period closes on 18 November 2011. Details of how to respond to the consultation are set out in chapter 8 of the report.

The final report of the review will be published in 2012. It will focus on implications for policy-making and delivery.

26 July 2011: The slides from a stakeholder workshop held on Monday 18 July have been published by the Hills Review.

• Download the slides from the workshop

14 March 2011: Hills Fuel Poverty Review publishes a call for evidence.

• Please note that the call for evidence has now closed. A summary of the call for evidence is expected to be published in the autumn, alongside the review’s interim findings. You can still email the review secretariat at HillsFuelPovertyReview@decc.gsi.gov.uk to provide evidence you feel is relevant to the review, although this will not necessarily be included in the summary.