Over half of cold homes lived in by a person with an illness or disability

“The data is undeniable: cold, damp homes drive up health inequality, costing the NHS, and punish the most vulnerable. The Energy Company Obligation was specifically targeted at fuel poor households, with the upcoming Warm Homes Plan unable to fill the funding gap left by cutting it [4]. After the Winter Fuel Payment backlash, the government can’t afford to see energy efficiency as an optional spending line, but as essential health infrastructure. Slashing these programmes now essentially condemns the poorest and most vulnerable households continuing to live in the coldest, dampest housing.” 

Paula Barker, Member of Parliament for Liverpool Wavertree said: "This research highlights the stark reality facing too many people living with a long-term illness or disability this winter, especially in some of the most deprived areas in the country including in my constituency of Liverpool Wavertree. 

“Last year, Labour was elected on an ambitious commitment to tackling fuel poverty and to ensuring that everyone can afford to stay warm at winter. By supporting the most vulnerable households with the costs of making their homes more efficient and cheaper to heat, schemes like ECO are important in making that promise a reality.”  

The Government committed to the Warm Homes Plan before the Election, but since then has scaled ambitions down from upgrading 19 million homes to 5 million. The Warm Homes Plan is expected to provide grants and potentially loans to households to upgrade their insulation and heating systems. However, there have been rumours that the Warm Homes Plan may be used to pay for existing insulation schemes like the Energy Company Obligation, which would cut its overall budget and may mean that other support schemes like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme need to be reduced as there is not enough funding.  

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme delivered 4.3 million measures in 2.6 million households since its inception [5]. Notably, the ECO scheme has successfully targeted a high proportion of vulnerable groups, with approximately half (49%) of recipient households reporting having a long-term illness, disability, or infirmity. This proportion has increased as ECO has progressed [6]. Like existing schemes, the Warm Homes Plan is expected to focus on low-income and vulnerable households.  

Around a quarter (24%) of all households that benefitted from ECO reported that the energy efficiency measures had a positive impact on the health of someone within the household. This positive effect was more pronounced among households that had someone living there with a long-standing illness or disability, rising to around a third (31%).  

Asthma and other respiratory illnesses, heart disease and cardiac events, musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis, and mental health conditions like depression can all be caused or made worse by cold, damp homes [7]. The Building Research Establishment found in 2023 that the NHS could save £540 million per year by tackling cold homes [8].  

Previous analysis by the ECIU [9] showed that homes of children with a health condition are twice as likely to be cold in winter, and that over a third of homes upgraded under the ECO insulation scheme are home to a child.