Tackling Fuel Poverty: Bridging the divide for low income and vulnerable communities

There is little doubt that the UK is facing an energy crisis, within the next 5 years fuel prices are set to treble, meaning that thousands of people on low income will soon be forced into fuel poverty. Coupled with this, is the global drive to reduce carbon emissions and develop more energy efficient products. In both its Energy Review (2006) and the Energy White Paper (2007), the UK Government identified two major challenges for the UK: securing an energy supply for the future and reducing carbon emissions through reduced-carbon energy generation and energy saving. The Government regards energy efficiency as central to achieving its fuel poverty targets. However, it has become clear that in order to tackle this issue effectively amongst those on the lowest incomes and most vulnerable requires an interdisciplinary approach between the social sciences and those involved in the engineering and development of energy efficient measures. For many low-income and vulnerable households, the problem is how to afford the energy they need to warm and their homes to an adequate standard, as well as how to afford the up-front cost of the insulation and heating measures necessary to improve their home's thermal efficiency. The latest projections, form DECC, suggest that there were around 4.6 million fuel poor households in England in 2009 (Department Energy Climate Change, Annual Energy Statement, 2010).There is currently a range of energy saving measures available for free or at a much reduced cost for low income households. However, there is much evidence to suggest that the uptake of these options is well below the national average for those who are classed as vulnerable and low incomes. The proposed activity looks to explore this further and put in place the links to assist in addressing the current mis-match between what we know about people and communities and how technology is developed, supplied and installed in households. There is general recognition that the technology has been developed sufficiently to improve the energy efficiency of domestic dwellings, through retrofit projects. The focus of this hop would be to better understand and explore the role that building materials and technology play in alleviating the presence of fuel poverty in the lives of vulnerable people. The activity aims to develop a better understanding as to the inter-disciplinary challenges and opportunities to tackling fuel poverty faced by these local vulnerable residents and social renting tenants, including those on low incomes, the older people, people with disabilities and life-limiting conditions, and families with young children (particularly single parents), as well as looking at the issues faced by housing providers, developers and technology providers. The project will also look at a range of issues faced by the geographic location of households for instance: urban, rural and coastal residents. This activity will consist of: reviews of literature; surveys and interviews with vulnerable and low-income households; engagement with various key stakeholders; workshops with organisations and industry within the retrofit technology supply chain; and, continued inter-disciplinary dialogue and learning.

The nature of the proposed project will result in a wide range of impact, for example: Knowledge: This activity will provide a vital bridge between knowledge within applied social sciences and social policy and that within the construction, building and engineering. This activity will be of benefit to each of the scientific realms by placing people and communities at the core of the product development and the retrofit supply chain. Furthermore, the activity undertaken as part of the hop will raise awareness within each of the key stakeholder groups as to the importance and issues faced by each of the facets of retrofit adoption. Internal interdisciplinary workshops will be held as well as a great deal of inter-disciplinary activity at external conferences and workshops. Regular updates as to the activity, together with briefing notes and working papers, will be placed on both SHUSUs and SCRIs website. Furthermore, details of the hop will be activity disseminated by SHUSUs and SCRIs social media platforms. Society: The nature of the activity during this hop will have a direct focus on improving peoples quality of life, especially those vulnerable and on low incomes that are facing the threat of fuel poverty. The research and results will be used to inform policy at a variety of levels. At the local level this activity will contribute to the formulation of sub-regional climate change strategies which focus upon reducing the threat of fuel poverty. This will be made possible by holding and co-ordinating a series of workshops with community based groups and organisations, local authorities, RSLs, and other public bodies. At a national level the results of the activity will help to inform policy, for example within the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), Homes and Communities Agency, Department for Communities and Local Government, and NHS through dissemination and workshop activity. International Development: Although the findings from this work will largely be applied to the UK those states with similar housing issues, climate, community composition that face raising fuel costs will also benefit from the findings of this activity. From attendance at overseas conferences, workshops and presence on SCRIs international networks Philip Brown will offer insights from this activity to illustrate the international significance of the activity. Economy: The results of the activity and dissemination of findings, will allow for businesses to develop new products, systems and services to improve energy efficiency and performance of homes to reduce the threat of fuel poverty of those vulnerable members of their community. More importantly it will actively engage end users in the design and development of these products. This represents a shift in traditional approaches to developing such products. Businesses and industry have been imprinted into the formulation of the activity within this hop. From utilising SCRIs extensive network of contacts in this area will ensure a speedy and clear knowledge transfer occurs between academic knowledge and industry awareness. This will be facilitated by utilising close links held by the University with MediaCity. People: This activity poses a significant opportunity for a symbiotic relationship to form between the social sciences and the technical disciplines at the University, in particular, and in the academic community more generally. The most significant opportunities arise for Philip Brown and Will Swann however, colleagues within the University and external will benefit from information sharing events. Philip Brown will undergo training and awareness raising in various technical aspects as well as providing opportunities for knowledge transfer with colleagues within SCRI. It is anticipated that the activity will result in a number of colleagues undergoing training in various areas in order to enhance the inter-disciplinary activity in tackling complex socio-technical issues.