Fuel Poverty Low Income Low Energy Efficiency Definition
A new definition of fuel poverty was introduced in 2021. This is the ‘Low Income Low Energy Efficiency’ (LILEE) definition of fuel poverty stating that a household is fuel poor if:
• They are living in a property with an energy efficiency rating of band D, E, F or G
• Their disposable income (income after housing costs and energy needs) is below the poverty line.
Fuel poverty is affected by a household’s income, their fuel costs, and their energy consumption which can be affected, in return, by the energy-efficiency of the household’s dwelling.
Poor energy efficiency dwellings will require more fuel for heating purposes, and, as a consequence, more CO2 emissions will be produced. Energy efficiency improvements are key as they reduce energy and fuel consumption and, as a result, fuel poverty.
There is a two year time lag with local Fuel Poverty Data which means for the local authority level estimates for Leeds, data under this new definition, released annually from 2021 starts from 2019.
Fuel Poverty in England
Table 7.1
| Fuel Poverty LILEE | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | Annual Change 2022-2021 |
| England households in fuel poverty (m=million) | 3.28m | 3.16m | 3.16m | 3.18m | +120,000 |
| England % of households in fuel poverty | 13.4% | 13.1% | 13.2% | 13.4% | +0.3 percentage points |
| Source: DBEIS and DESNZ , Sub-regional fuel poverty data 2022, February 2023 | |||||
In 2022, there were an estimated 13.4% of households (3.26 million) in fuel poverty in England under the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) metric, up from 13.1% in 2021 (3.16 million). The increase in fuel poverty between 2021 and 2022 is starting to reflect the impact of the rising cost of energy which started to take effect in the autumn of 2021. The 2022 estimates are based on observed changes to energy efficiency installations, income changes and announced energy prices during field work carried out from April 2021 to March 2022.
Fuel Poverty Gap
The LILEE definition also allows analysis of the depth of fuel poverty; known as the fuel poverty gap which is more sensitive to energy price changes. This measures the reduction in fuel costs a households would need to no longer be in fuel poverty under the LILEE definition. In 2022 the mean average fuel poverty gap was £338 per fuel poor household and is projected to increase to a record high of £443 in 2023 (previous record of £354 in 2010).
Fuel Poverty in Leeds
Table 7.2
| Fuel Poverty LILEE | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | Annual Change 2022-2021 |
| Leeds households in fuel poverty | 55,274 | 60,802 | 57,492 | -5,528 |
| Leeds % of households in fuel poverty | 15.8% | 17.6% | 16.8% | -1.8 percentage points |
| England % of households in fuel poverty | 13.1% | 13.2% | 13.4% | -0.1 percentage points |
| Source: DBEIS and DESNZ , Sub-regional fuel poverty data 2021, April 2023 | ||||
Please note that the local data has a two-year time lag does not capture the impact of the energy crisis. Latest national data has a one year time lag and is starting to reveal the impact of the energy crisis, please see Table 7.1 for the latest national data.
In 2021, the estimated number of households in fuel poverty in Leeds was 55,274 under the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) metric. This affects 15.8% of all Leeds households. Fuel poverty fell in Leeds by 5,528 households between 2020 and 2021. Nationally during this timeframe, the number of households in fuel poverty was estimated at around 3.16 million, representing approximately 13.1% of all English households and had fallen from 13.2% of households in 2020.
The average fuel poverty gap for England in 2021 (the reduction in fuel costs needed for a household to not be in fuel poverty) was estimated at £254. The recent national data for 2022 is showing this gap increase to £338 and a rise in fuel poverty – please see Table 7.1 above.
Further information about Fuel Poverty Data
Fuel Poverty statistics are based on data collected in the English Housing Survey (EHS), which is a continuous national survey commissioned by the Department for Levelling up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC). It collects information about people’s housing circumstances and the condition and energy efficiency of housing in England.
The latest complete combined year dataset for the EHS is for 2021 based on fieldwork carried out between April 2020 and March 2022 (with a mid-point of 1st April 2021). The sample comprised 10,572 occupied dwellings where a physical inspection and a household interview was carried out.
It is noted that the 2021 dataset carries higher uncertainty than usual since both years of data were collected using remote survey methods due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The overall number of surveys carried out was 15 per cent lower than planned and is less representative due to challenges of recruiting households to the survey remotely.
The headline figures for England are projections for 2022. These are designed to represent the period between April 2021 and March 2023 inclusive. This is a significant change made for the 2023 annual report to provide more timely estimates of fuel poverty in detail. The 2022 projection is considered to be less uncertain than the 2023 projection since it is based more on observed changes to energy efficiency installations, income changes and announced energy prices.