Fuel poverty modelled estimates for Wales: as at October 2021

This article follows the Fuel poverty modelled estimates for Wales (headline results): as at October 2021 published in April 2022 and provides a more detailed analysis of the fuel poverty estimates for 2021. This article presents modelled estimates of fuel poverty calculated for Wales, using the Welsh Housing Conditions Survey 2017-18 as a base. This article has been jointly written by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and Welsh Government statisticians.

Main points

• 14% of all households (196,000 households) and vulnerable households (169,000 households) were living in fuel poverty.
• 3% of all households (38,000) were living in severe fuel poverty and 11% (153,000) were at risk of fuel poverty.
• Households living in the private rented sector were more likely to be fuel poor with 23% of these households living in fuel poverty compared with 13% of owner occupiers or those in social housing.
• 22% of single person households without children were fuel poor, whilst 4% of households with two adults and children were in fuel poverty.
• Households where the respondent is unemployed or on means tested benefits are more likely to be in fuel poverty than those who are not, with 7 in 10 of the households with the lowest 10 percent of incomes being in fuel poverty.
• Households living in older properties were more likely to be fuel poor with 22% of households living in pre-1919 dwellings in fuel poverty.
• Households in dwellings with solid walls were more likely to be fuel poor (21%) than those in dwellings with cavity walls. However, whether cavity walls were insulated (11%) or not (12%) had no significant impact on fuel poverty status.
• Half of households living in dwellings without central heating (50%) were fuel poor compared with 12% of those that had central heating.
• As the EPC rating of the dwelling decreased the likelihood of being fuel poor increased, with households living in dwellings rated bands A to C (8%) the least likely to be fuel poor compared with those in bands F or G (54%).