Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people are deemed to live in fuel poverty; and how this figure has changed over the last three years.

Fuel poverty is measured at household level. The official statistics for the past three years for which data is available show that the number of households living in fuel poverty has remained relatively stable.

There were 2.36 million households living in fuel poverty in England in 2012, this fell slightly to 2.35 million households in 2013, then increased to 2.38 million households in 2014.

We believe the most sustainable way to address fuel poverty is by improving the energy efficiency of homes occupied by those living in fuel poverty. Between 2012 and 2014 the number of fuel poor homes with an energy efficiency rating of E, F or G reduced by approximately 350,000.