More vulnerable people are expected to struggle with heating

National Energy Action and the National Right to Fuel Campaign say as many as two million households in England alone will face fuel poverty by 2009.

A government report says there were two million fuel-poor homes in the UK in 2003 - 4.5 million fewer than in 1996 - but predicts a 400,000 rise by 2006.

Fuel-poor households are those which spend 10% of their income on heating.

Vulnerable

The campaign groups' report warns steep price rises in the past 18 months have already reversed progress made by the government in cutting fuel poverty.

The government report says its policies have cut fuel poverty dramatically.

Some 1.2 million households in England were affected by the problem in 2003, down from 1.4 million in 2002 and 5.1 million in 1996.

Cold homes affect people's health and their quality of life Elliot Morley

But the document, produced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) says 400,000 vulnerable households in England are expected to he plunged back into fuel poverty by 2006.

Allan Asher, chief executive of fuel watchdog Energywatch, welcomed the 2003 figures but warned that price hikes since then had taken their toll.

The government says fuel prices started rising in 2003, mainly because of a rise in wholesale fossil fuel prices.

Central heating

It says gas was approximately 9% more expensive by the end of 2004 than in the same period a year earlier, and electricity around 7% dearer.

Mr Asher said: "The fall in numbers demonstrates that the Government was making substantial progress in tackling this blight on society.

"Unfortunately much of that good work has been undone by the price rises. It is inevitable that next year's figures will reveal a much bleaker picture."

Government policy aims to eradicate fuel poverty among the elderly, disabled, children and long-term sick by 2010, and has helped more than a million households cut bills by installing insulation and central heating.

Elliot Morley, minister for climate change and environment, said: "The eradication of fuel poverty remains one of our main objectives. Cold homes affect people's health and their quality of life."

He said action to reduce fuel bills must be combined with a renewed focus on energy efficiency improvements.

And energy minister Malcolm Wicks said the government, industry and voluntary sector had to work together to help people struggling to pay their bills.