New figures show a small improvement in fuel poverty levels in England, based on official measures, but the overall picture remains deeply concerning.
Two main numbers are used to report fuel poverty in England. The “official definition,” called the LILEE measure, is based on an analysis of income, energy costs and home energy efficiency.
The second is “the 10% measure” which tracks how many households spend more than 10% of their income on energy after housing costs. We prefer this because it’s more understandable (and can apply across UK nations).
The figures show:
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2.36 million households (9.4%) were in fuel poverty in 2025 based on the official (LILEE) measure, down slightly from 2.47 million (9.9%) in 2024. This is driven by progress on energy efficiency, with 65.2% of low-income households now in EPC band C or above, up from 62.6%.
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The fuel poverty gap remains largely unchanged at around £379 per household.
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A new affordability measure shows households spent 6.8% of income on energy on average, falling from 7.5%, but for low-income households this remains far higher at 14.9%.
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Meanwhile, 7.6 million households (30.4%) in England still spend more than 10% of their income on energy, down from 8.55 million in 2024. This is consistent with EFPC / University of York estimates of these figures for this period. The measure is the most sensitive to market prices, which enables live updates to the headline number.
A spokesperson for the the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said:
“These figures show just how fragile progress on fuel poverty really is and how quickly it could go into reverse.
“Millions of households are still struggling and the gap needed to escape fuel poverty has barely shifted, meaning families are continuing to ration their heating.
“With energy prices set to rise from 1 July – and heating oil and LPG costs already hitting 1.7 million off-gas-grid households – we are likely to see more people pushed into difficulty.
“Across the UK, we estimate that well over 13 million households will be struggling with their energy bills as a result of the current oil and gas price crisis.
“This is history repeating itself. Ministers must act now with targeted support, faster home upgrades and reforms to energy pricing so households are no longer exposed to volatile fossil fuel markets.”
The Coalition’s proposals focus on targeted support for households most exposed to high energy costs now, while retaining the ability to scale up support if the crisis deepens.
Immediate measures include a longer-term Alternative Fuel Support Scheme for households using heating oil, LPG and other off-gas fuels, alongside support for heat network customers facing rising commercial energy costs.
We are also calling for a targeted reduction in energy unit rates from July if the price cap rises, faster rollout of a national energy debt relief scheme, and reforms to the Warm Home Discount and Cold Weather Payments so support reaches vulnerable households earlier.
Ministers must also accelerate electricity pricing reform and be ready to introduce wider support quickly if the situation worsens.