Charlotte Cane MP uncovers Government data on scale of fuel poverty

Ely and East Cambridgeshire’s MP Charlotte Cane has forced the Government to confirm that 9.6% of households in the constituency were in fuel poverty in 2023.

Charlotte tabled a Written Parliamentary Question during the conference recess which was answered by the Government this week, asking the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero what assessment they have made of levels of fuel poverty in her constituency.

The Department’s answer confirmed 4,487 households in Ely and East Cambridgeshire were in fuel poverty two years ago. This amounts to 9.6% of all households in the constituency even before the Government’s reforms to the Winter Fuel Payment.

In response to the Government’s answer, Charlotte Cane MP commented:

“I am appalled by the fact that 1 in every 10 households in my constituency are in fuel poverty, which is an unacceptable statistic that should shame the Government.”

“It is even more concerning that these figures are so high even before Labour’s ill-thought-out reforms to the Winter Fuel Payment.”

“The Government must urgently come clean about the impact of these reforms on fuel poverty in my constituency and publish the data from last year, and take action in the forthcoming Budget to backdate Winter Fuel Payments to those who wrongly missed out on them amidst last year’s debacle.”