Probert, Lauren | United Kingdom

Lauren Probert is a doctoral candidate in the School of Civil and Building Engineering at Loughborough University, United Kingdom. She completed her undergraduate studies at Durham University in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, before spending two years working in the private sector as a developer on large-scale welfare-to-work and social care procurement projects. Lauren returned to academia in 2009, completing an MRes in Social Policy at the University of York. Her Master’s dissertation considered the impacts of structural barriers upon the availability of support to the fuel and water poor. Lauren began her doctoral research in 2011; her PhD thesis focuses upon the responsibilities of energy suppliers towards fuel poverty alleviation in England. Lauren currently holds an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council doctoral scholarship.

Project at IAS-STS: The role of energy suppliers in fuel poverty alleviation in the United Kingdom

The problem of fuel poverty - broadly defined as “the inability to afford adequate warmth in the home” - has long constituted a social concern in England. Fuel poverty is distinguished from income poverty with reference to the role of the house as mediating factor; where this envelope is inefficient, even individuals not considered to be in income poverty could find themselves struggling to meet the costs of domestic fuel. The only sustainable solution to this problem is increased domestic energy efficiency. A cold and damp climate matched with a generally poor housing stock has created a significant problem in England, with recent Government reports estimating that 3.2 million English households are in fuel poverty. The Government have increasingly obligated the private energy sector to take responsibility for supporting fuel poor households; this research assesses the validity of that approach. The project employs mixed methods, drawing upon social policy, civil and building engineering, politics, economics and statistics.
Whilst her doctoral research is focused upon the English case, Lauren intends to spend her time at IAS-STS also considering where the outcomes of this project might be leveraged towards Austrian fuel poverty alleviation.
 

Selected Publications

Probert, L., Loveday, D.L. and Haines, V.J. (2011), ‘The Hills Fuel Poverty Review Interim Report: assessing proposals and implications.’ People, Place & Policy Online 5(3): 161-173.