There are plenty of things right about social housing in the UK, including the fact that it provides countless people with an affordable place to live with somewhat more generous tenant rights than those who rent from private landlords. But the fact that someone is living in social housing indicates that they are not in the best position to withstand things such as spikes in energy prices combined with bitterly cold winters. As a result, social housing fuel poverty is a large and growing concern.
Limited Support is Not Enough
The issue of fuel poverty is not a new one, and as such, there are support programmes in place intended to address the issue, including the Winter Fuel and Cold Weather Payments programmes. Unfortunately, these and other programs are not always available to some social housing residents, and in other cases, those residents are not aware they exist or how to access this type of assistance.
Although energy prices are currently at a 5 year low in the UK such dips are typically only temporary and often provide a misleading impression of the extent of the social housing fuel poverty problem. Politicians are opportunistic by nature so when the number of people unable to heat their homes declines for whatever reason, those politicians can consign the issue to the back burner and move on to other things. That is, until the next cold snap or price spike.
Climate Change Breeding Unpredictability
Gas prices are just one contributing factor to the problem of social housing fuel poverty. Another is the way climate change is affecting weather patterns. Seasonal temperature variations are no longer as predictable as they were just 20 years ago. Climate change has caused unprecedented disruptions to the jet stream, resulting in extended periods of unseasonably cold weather throughout the nation.
What to Do?
Various energy suppliers offer energy at a reduced rate to at-risk customers. But the availability of these so-called “social tariffs” varies from company to company with some not offering any significant break. If the problem of fuel poverty in social housing is to be effectively addressed the first step needs to be consistent availability and application of remedial efforts. That’s just common sense. Lawmakers and regulators need to stop kicking the social housing fuel poverty can down the road and address the issue in a substantive way before the next arctic cold snap exposes the significant flaws in their current piecemeal approach.