Almost 10m households across the UK are living in cold, damp and poorly insulated homes while not earning enough to be able to make improvements to them, according to analysis.
A total of 34% of UK households or 9.6m are living in cold, poorly insulated homes, according to analysis of the English Housing Survey by the Institute of Health Equity and Friends of the Earth.
These 9.6m households also have an income below the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s minimum standard for a decent living, meaning it is unlikely they would be able to afford the costs of adding insulation to their homes.
The report defines poorly insulated homes as those with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of below C, which are unlikely to have double-glazed windows, energy-efficient lighting, draught proof doors and windows, or an efficient heating system.
According to the JRF, a couple with two children would need to earn £50,000 between them to meet the minimum income standard.
The report comes after Labour scaled back its pledge to spend £28bn a year on environmental schemes as part of its “green prosperity plan”, reducing the amount to just £4.7bn a year.
This reduction would significantly affect funding for Labour’s home insulation scheme, which is the largest single ticket item of the green plan. Labour had previously promised to spend up to £6bn a year insulating 19m homes over a decade.
The UK is among the countries with the oldest and least efficient housing stock in Europe.
The report also highlights the effects of cold homes on the health of the UK population. Health experts have previously warned that cold homes could damage children’s lungs and brain development, while doubling the risk of adults developing new mental health conditions.
One of the recommendations of the report is for the government to commit £74.5bn across the UK to a 10-year retrofit programme targeted at those on low incomes in energy-inefficient housing.
Sir Michael Marmot, the director of the UCL Institute of Health Equity, said that the steep number of people living in cold homes was a “national disgrace”.
Marmot said: “Cold homes are a public health hazard: those living in them have much higher risk of developing poor physical and mental health and this is adding burden on to an already overstretched NHS, and contributing to poor productivity.
“We need urgent action to address poverty, the cost of fuel and to insulate the homes of the poorest, not just because the government has a moral duty to look after the health of its population, but also, frankly, because it makes economic sense too.”
Mike Childs, the head of science, research and policy at Friends of the Earth, said: “There’s no getting away from the enormity of the cold homes crisis and the impact it’s having on millions of lives. This hard-hitting report should spur all political parties into action as we head towards the general election – both the Conservatives and Labour have gone backwards over recent months on this critical issue.
“Given the sheer scale of the problem, we need to see transformative levels of investment and action, to stem the huge social and economic costs of cold homes and ensure our internationally agreed climate targets are met.”
A government spokesperson said the figures did not take into account “homes which have some, but not all, of the insulation measures.”
They added: “Everyone has the right to a warm, secure and decent home – almost half of all homes in England now have an EPC rating of C or above, up from just 14% in 2010.
“We will continue to build on this success and have invested further funding to upgrade more than 300,000 of Britian’s least energy efficient homes.”
