367,000 homes in England and Wales have no central heating - check your area
More than 367,000 households in England and Wales still do not have central heating, as Britain experiences 'shocking levels of fuel poverty', official statistics reveal.
As temperatures across the country plummet to subzero levels, the equivalent population to a city the size of Leeds is largely relying on single gas or electric fires to keep warm in their homes. A lack of central heating is classified as one of the key indicators of poverty, and nationally around 1.5 per cent of homes still fall into this category. Statistics show that Birmingham has the highest number of homes without central heating of any local authority in England and Wales. In Birmingham, a total of 9,995 homes lack central heating - making up 2.4 per cent of all households in the city.
Next is Cornwall, where 8,776 homes (3.5 per cent) have no central heating, followed by Leeds (7,383 households) and Manchester (4,884 households). Outside central London, the highest proportion of homes lacking central heating are in Gwynedd in Wales, Torridge in Devon and Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, where rates are double the national average. The figures come from the 2021 Census, published by the Office for National Statistics.
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The ONS said: “While households without central heating may have other ways of heating their homes, a lack of central heating is one of the characteristics used in our Census 2021 data to identify potential household deprivation.”
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According to the Census, a ‘household’ is defined as one person living alone, or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address who share cooking facilities, and a living room or dining area.
In England and Wales, a total of 367,119 households are going without central heating. This makes up 1.48 per cent of the 24.8m homes across the region. Of the 332 local authority areas in England and Wales, Birmingham was found to have the highest number of homes without central heating.
The equivalent population to a city the size of Leeds is going without central heating (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Birmingham Yardley Labour MP Jess Phillips said the levels of fuel poverty in the city are ‘shocking’. She said: “The idea that there are still houses in Birmingham that still don’t have any central heating or double glazing would seem shocking to people who care about this. The levels of fuel poverty, certainly in the areas that I represent, are worsening every day, and are high above the national average.”
The Ladywood area of Birmingham was found to be the local ward with the highest number of homes lacking central heating. But six of the ten wards recording the highest number of homes without central heating are in Leeds.
Local districts with the highest percentage of homes without central heating, apart from the remote Scilly Isles, are the Pen draw Llŷn and Corris Mawddwy areas of Gwynedd in North Wales. Both of these areas have more than one in 12 homes that lack central heating.
Only two local wards in England have central heating in every single house. These include the Ewhurst area of Waverley in Surrey and the Hummersknott ward of Darlington.
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