Sandra Hutton

Social policy options and fuel poverty

Abstract The concept of ‘fuel poverty’, the inability to afford adequate warmth at home has become a focus for social policies in recent years. Increasing numbers of households dependent on social security and the likelihood that fuel will become more expensive mean that the existing problem of fuel poverty may become even greater. The data on fuel expenditure and related variables from three national surveys are used to evaluate various policy options for relieving fuel poverty. Three policies for increasing incomes to pay for fuel costs are considered, increasing benefits, introducing a fuel allowance or extending the existing scheme of additional heating requirements. The policies for reducing fuel expenditure are also considered, restructuring tariffs, changing payment methods and conservation measures. The case is made for priority to be given to an advice and information campaign and a conservation programme aimed at poor households who are unable to respond to existing price signals and grants.

Measuring Living Standards Using Existing National Data Sets

The study reported on in this paper used existing data to create a broad measure of living standards as advocated by Townsend (1979) in developing his concept of relative deprivation. Linked data from the General Household Survey and the Family Expenditure Survey was used to compare the living standards of households at different income levels. A particular focus of the study was the living standards of households on supplementary benefit (as it was at the time of the surveys). Analyses showed that in general they score less well on individual indicators of living standards than other households of the same type on low incomes. A summary index was developed which indicated the similarity of standards of living for households on supplementary benefit (SB) irrespective of household type. The specific indices constructed for each of the family types investigated suggested that families on SB with children have a relatively lower standard of living than other families with children whereas elderly households on supplementary benefit are not so deprived in comparison with other elderly households.

The Occupational Pension Trap: Towards a Preliminary Empirical Specification

Legislation in 1985 and 1986 has attempted to give new impetus to the growth of occupational and personal pension schemes. This article demonstrates that, because of the interaction between occupational pensions and means-tested social security provision, many of todays pensioners receive little or no financial benefit from their occupational pension. The evidence presented is consistent with the thesis that the pensioners who are worst affected by the ‘pension trap’ include those who, as workers, were low-paid and experienced interrupted employment. As a consequence they reached retirement with small state and occupational pensions, limited savings and no house which they owned. Many are women. The penetration of occupational and personal pensions is currently lowest among the same groups of workers and it could be that the Governments policy to extend the coverage of private pensions will result in an increase in the severity of the pension trap. Some measures for reducing the impact of the pension trap are discussed.

Men's and Women's Incomes: Evidence from Survey Data

The article highlights the discordance between the reality and the perception of womens independence and equality. The changes in legislation and increased female participation in the labour market since the 1960s give the impression of considerable progress. Equal treatment of men and women has been proposed. Evidence from national survey data however, shows that womens income is still lower than mens with no matching increase with age and career. Social security policy has always been based on labour market participation but womens labour market participation is quite different from that of men. Because of childcare responsibilities many women work parttime at some time in their working lives. Equal pay legislation has had little influence on the incomes from part-time work. The failure of real income from part-time work to rise over time has been a major cause along with job segregation and the segmentation of the labour market in maintaining the difference between mens and womens incomes. Womens continued lack of personal income has consequences for the support for women and children, particularly evident in the case of lone mothers. The incomes available to a woman are unlikely to be high enough to provide an adequate independent living standard for herself and any dependent children.

Domestic fuel expenditure. An analysis of three national surveys

Abstract This paper analyses the fuel expenditure data in three surveys, looking particularly at the importance of household income. Multivariate data analysis techniques show that household size, the size and type of accomodation, and the presence of central heating are more direct influences on fuel expenditure than income. Changes in income have little independent effect on fuel expenditure once the size of the house, size of household and heating system are determined.