Wales
Without central heating
Key points
- Note that the latest data is currently for 2003/04 as the question was not asked in either 2004/05 or 2005/06.
- The proportion of households lacking central heating has been falling quickly in recent years and, by 2003/04, was half the level that it was in the mid-1990s.
- This fall has happened for both households in the poorest fifth of the population and for households on average incomes, although the level is still somewhat higher among households with below average income than those with average incomes: 8% compared with 5%.
- Homes in the private rented sector are more likely to be without central heating (around 15%) than those in social housing (7%) and owner occupied housing (6%). Numerically, because the owner occupied sector is by far the most common housing tenure, around three fifths of the 90,000 homes without central heating are owner occupied.
- Homes without central heating are concentrated in rural areas, where there is less extensive connection to the gas network.
- The proportion of households in Wales that lack central heating is similar to the UK average.
Graph 1: Over time
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Graph 2: By tenure
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Graph 3: By LA
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Map
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Graph 4: Compared to UK
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Definitions and data sources
The first graph shows the proportion of households without central heating. The data is split to show households on below average and average incomes separately. Income is household disposable income, equivalised (adjusted) to take account of household composition and is measured after deducting housing costs.
The data source for the first graph is the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The missing years are because the question about central heating is only asked in some years. Also note that the question was not asked in either 2004/05 or 2005/06.
The second graph shows, for 2001, how the proportion varies by housing tenure.
The third graph show, for 2001, how the proportion of households without central heating varies by local authority.
The fourth graph shows, for 2001, how the proportion of households without central heating in Wales compares with the rest of the UK.
The map shows how the proportion of households without central heating varies at a small area level (the 2001 Census output areas).
The data source for the second, third and fourth graphs, plus the map, is the 2001 Census.
Overall adequacy of the indicator: medium. The FRS is a well-established, regular government survey, designed to be nationally representative, but the question has not been included in the survey since 2003/04.