Bonfield Review overlooks local level fuel poverty interventions

The Each Home Counts review, or Bonfield Review, was launched in 2015 to consider issues relating to consumer advice, protection, standards and enforcement in relation to home energy efficiency and renewable energy measures in the UK.

It makes 27 recommendations on the themes below:

  • Consumer advice and protection
  • Standards framework
  • Monitoring and enforcement

We regard the Bonfield Review as an important opportunity to lay out practical measures to support energy efficiency measures, with the intention to eradicate fuel poverty as one of the key motivators. However, while the review makes some helpful proposals we are concerned that some key factors have been overlooked.

Primarily, a lack of focus on the importance of local and bespoke, personalised advice and support, as well as a poor integration between local and national government in the development and delivery of the measures proposed.

EFPC response to the Bonfield Review outlines three key recommendations:

Recommendation 1: Advice for fuel poor customers, particularly those that are vulnerable, needs to be embedded in wider local referral networks.

Recommendation 2: Ensure that provision of a local holistic fuel poverty advice service is supported by and funded by all relevant departments i.e. Department of Health, DWP and BEIS.

Recommendation 3: Advice must be provided in a variety of formats: telephone, internet and face to face, including home visits from trusted intermediaries for the most vulnerable.

You can read EFPC response to the Bonfield Review and the full review itself here.