National Energy Action (NEA) and Energy Action Scotland (EAS) have warned that the Government has lost its way in its battle against fuel poverty.

The current incidence of fuel poverty in the UK is virtually the same as 10 years ago and the good progress made during the early 2000s has all but been reversed - with an estimated 4.5m households in the UK now suffering fuel poverty.

NEA and EAS have launched the UK Fuel Poverty Monitor publication, The Wrong Direction, which warns that the Westminster Government and the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will fail to meet their self-imposed fuel poverty targets.

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The report paints a bleak picture of Government inadequacy in dealing with the fundamental issues of the problem and questions its decision to slash funding on the flagship energy efficiency scheme - Warm Front - which offers insulation and heating systems for low-income households (the equivalent scheme is called Warm Deal in Scotland).

Jenny Saunders, NEA Chief Executive, said: "The report points to the relentless rise in energy prices over the past five years as the main cause of the alarming increase in fuel poverty, with prices having risen by 94% for gas and 70% for electricity in England since 2003. In Scotland too prices have risen sharply since 2001."

Norman Kerr, Director, EAS, said: "At this stage in the campaign to end fuel poverty, it is increasingly important that policies and practical initiatives work as closely together as possible, be they reserved or devolved matters for government or those spanning income, energy price and energy efficiency.

"Understanding progress across the wider spectrum is one of the key purposes of the UK Fuel Poverty Monitor and the information it provides can help shape the thinking and plans of bodies such as the newly reformed Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum."

(GK/JM)