Fuel poverty could become endemic across Liverpool within months if the energy price cap continues to increase, city officials have warned.
Households in each ward across the city could be spending more than 10% of income on energy bills by April should the amount suppliers can charge continue to rise, a Liverpool Council official said. Richard Jones, head of intelligence and analytics, presented what he described as the “doomsday” scenario as the Liverpool Health and Wellbeing Board considered how the city is responding to the ongoing cost of living crisis.
As of October 1, a typical household energy bill will rise to £2,500 a year, an increase of almost £600. A support package of £400 was announced by former Chancellor Rishi Sunak in May.
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A £750 increase in energy costs would equal 5% of total household income in Everton, one of the city's most deprived wards. It is also the area of the city with the lowest median income at £16,065.
Mr Jones shared a presentation with members at Liverpool Town Hall that identified how data from 2020 showed 1,770 households in the city fell into fuel poverty. Of this increase, 85% was accounted for in just five wards; Greenbank, Picton, Central, Princes Park, and Kensington and Fairfield.
Almost 20% of Liverpool is said to be in fuel poverty according to the 2020 figures, placing it more than 5% above the national average. Mr Jones’ presentation said: “With impacts from energy increases more severely impacting lower income households and Liverpool containing a disproportionate share of these households, a doubling of households in fuel poverty could prove a conservative estimate.”
He warned the situation could become "endemic" across the city next year.
Addressing the meeting, Mr Jones added: “If nothing is done to provide support, there’s a huge crisis. People have less money to spend and vulnerability is likely to increase.”
The authority officer said that for some, the situation could “become unmanageable.” Fears are also abound that the ongoing cost of living crisis could lead to a rise in excess deaths in Liverpool.
The presentation identified that should deaths increase by 5% in 2022 and 2023, around 688 excess deaths could be recorded. It added: “There are concerns that elderly people will die because they cannot afford to eat or hear their homes.”
Professor Matt Ashton, Liverpool director of public health, said the data showed the “potential scale of the challenge over the coming weeks and months.” He said Liverpool Council could not mitigate all the problems and a cross-partner approach was being adopted, including the corporate emergency response group.
Cllr Richard Kemp, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, proposed putting the presentation’s findings to two-Liverpool born members of the UK Government; Therese Coffey MP, deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and Kit Malthouse MP, Secretary of State for Education. He said: “We have to ensure we do our utmost to ensure that decision makers understand the situation.
“Even in the wealthiest ward in the city, people will be badly affected by this. This shows how deep the problems are.”
Cllr Jane Corbett, deputy Mayor, added that government support had been coming in “fits and starts” which was “no good for Liverpool.” She said: “We have to know what we’re getting so we can pull everyone together around that.”
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