Tackling Fuel Poverty

Cheshire West & Chester Council Fuel Strategy Consultation

The Council is asking residents and organisations across the borough to share their views on proposals to tackle fuel poverty in west Cheshire.

Fuel poverty covers the areas of energy costs and consumption, energy efficiency of properties, poverty and hardship, mental and physical health and climate change. With rising energy prices and current cost of living crisis stretching resident's household budgets, the draft strategy aims to address these areas and support households who are classed as fuel poor.The latest figures from 2020 estimated the fuel poverty level across the borough to be 11.9 per cent, the equivalent of 18,093 households.

The draft Fuel Poverty Strategy sets out actions to address five key themes around fuel poverty:

• Reducing debt and maximising household income
• Improving residents' health and wellbeing by tackling cold-related illnesses
• Improving the energy efficiency of homes
• Increasing renewable and low carbon technology in domestic properties
• Encouraging behaviour change to reduce energy use.

Many residents in fuel poverty have homes with poor insultation and limited energy saving measures which mean they can be using more energy to heat their homes to a sufficient standard.

Residential property makes up a substantial proportion of west Cheshire's greenhouse gas emissions, at 572,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. The Fuel Poverty Strategy will help reduce the emissions from homes in the borough and is a vital part of the Climate Emergency Response Plan for west Cheshire, which sets out how the borough will become carbon neutral by 2045.

The development of the Fuel Poverty Strategy links in closely with the Council's current work, coordinating a local response to the cost-of-living crisis with a range of local organisations and community groups. This is focusing on food, fuel, financial assistance, advice and wellbeing and is closely aligned with national support available and utilising funding from the government's national Household Support Fund.

To view the strategy and take part in the online consultationvisit. The consultation closes on Wednesday 23 November 2022.

Hard copies and easy read versions of the consultation are available on request by emailing: climatechange@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk or by calling: 0300 123 8123. Hard copies will also be available in the borough's libraries from early October.

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