The ever increasing charges for gas and electricity have kicked a record number of UK families into fuel poverty.
Official statistics just released show that the number of households with dependent children who were classified as fuel poor are projected to have risen to an estimated 2.33 million, or 10% of all households.
This is the highest since records began in 2003.
The Government’s current definition of a fuel poor household is one that must spend more on fuel than the national average in order to keep warm, and after spending that amount would be left with a residual income below the official poverty line.
The amount of money a household would need for adequate heating while staying above the poverty line is also estimated to have gone up from £443 in 2012 to £480 to 2014.
The official data show that poor elderly people face the biggest challenge. Couples aged 60 or over were on average £530 short of the cash needed to keep warm and stay above the poverty line.
According to Citizens Advice, some of the problem is exacerbated by "energy being lost through draughty homes as heat leaks through the walls, windows and roof". It believes that making homes energy efficient must be at the core of tackling fuel poverty.
The official figures released show that fuel poor couples and single parents with dependent children reached 1.027 million in 2012. But this number resulted from a government reworking of the definition. Previously it could all those who had to spend more than 10% of their income on heating.
Critics argue that using the new definition altered the figures by nearly one million households.
