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19812003 Number Of Dwellings (millions)no. Of Dwellings (millions) Owner ...



19812003
Number of dwellings (millions)No. of dwellings (millions)
Owner Occupied1218
Social Sector 74.5
In the social sector the number of dwellings fell from1981 by a quarter to under 5 million in 2003. (Labour Force Survey 2005), with 19 per cent of households being rented from social landlords (a Council, Housing Association or Registered Social Landlord) and 12 per cent rented from a private owner. (Census 2001). The domestic sector has been targeted with schemes for energy efficiency being put into practice by Local Authorities on a nationwide basis. However, with declining figures for social sector homes it is difficult for local authorities to make contact with enough residents in the area and advise them on how to save energy. Local authorities currently measure the energy efficiency of their housing stock through HECA Audits. A wide variety of measures are used: National Home Energy Rating (NHER), Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP), and Starpoint. A 1998 survey by LPAC, who conduct regular borough questionnaires, found that energy efficiency had been measured in 371,963 properties - with 220,551 being under local authority control. http://www.lho.org.uk/HIL/Determinants_Of_Health/Environment/Energy.aspx
According to the LHO the housing for low-income families is amongst the most inefficient:
heating using electric fires at normal electricity rates may be three times as expensive as gas central heating. Yet low income families spend less on heating, on average, than all houses, indicating that they live at colder temperature levels. Investment in upgrading housing to be fully insulated, as well as installing energy efficient heating systems, will both cut total costs and reduce energy use. (Ibid).
Other studies have shown that people would rather be in debt due to their fuel bills than be cold:
‘We live week by week now. No holidays or new furnishing, anything like that. We shrug our shoulders. The bill has to be paid, and that's that.' (Dave, middle aged couple). (Report on the Warm Homes Project by Heyman et al: 2005: 262).
Academic defence of housing policy has said that it recognises that conditions such as overcrowding; housing in disrepair; poor indoor environmental quality, are associated with various health conditions, including ‘respiratory infections, asthma, lead poisoning, injuries, and mental health.' (Krieger, 2002: 758).However, Conway, in her 2000 study, highlighted that in the UK, the twentieth century housing policy focus has been gradually drifting away from dealing with poor quality housing towards other issues such as ownership and management, access and cost. (Conway, 2000: 92). Over the last few years the issue of energy saving has not been so high on the public health agenda as the allocation of housing itself in order to help the homeless and the poor.

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