CRA and CPC research to examine fuel and food poverty among older people in the UK

Dr Aravinda Meera Guntupalli from the Centre for Research on Ageing and CPC researcher, Dr Athina Vlachantoni, have recently won Policy Commission funding from Public Policy@Southampton to examine patterns of fuel poverty and food poverty among older people (those aged 60 and above) in the UK, with a view to contributing to the policy-relevant debate on the choice faced by vulnerable older persons between heating their home and eating nutritious and regular meals.

A highly topical issue, BBC Wales has recently highlighted the stories of two pensioners facing fuel poverty, showing the choices older people often face between eating well and heating their homes.

Fuel poverty is defined as the situation of an individual or household spending 10% or more of their income on heating fuel, while food poverty is defined as the situation where the nutritious element and regularity of meals is compromised due to a combination of inadequate financial resources and social isolation.

The Policy Commission will provide a platform for the following issues to be examined:

1. To what extent is income poverty in later life associated with fuel poverty and food poverty?
2. How do older people cope in vulnerable situations when they have to choose between heating and eating?
3. What impact does fuel and food poverty have on the physical, psychological and emotional well-being of older people?
4. How do social policies at the local and national level, support older people experiencing fuel and/or food poverty, and how can such policies be further strengthened in the future?

The Policy Commission is a joint collaboration between the Public Policy network, the Centre for Research on Ageing, the ESRC Centre for Population Change, the USRG on Ageing and Lifelong Health and the USRG on Population Health and the Biomedical Research Centre in Nutrition and Lifestyle.

Posted 14/02/2013 12:36