New rules to improve energy efficiency of poor households to a decent standard by 2030 have been set out by the Government.

Only one in 20 (5%) of England's 2.3 million homes in fuel poverty - judged as facing both low incomes and high energy costs - currently reach a reasonable level of energy efficiency, or band C on a scale from A to G.

But having a home with an efficiency rating of band C can mean energy bills are more than £1,000 lower than the worst-rated homes which fall into the F or G categories, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) said.

Under proposals put out for consultation, future governments would be obliged to lift as many fuel poor homes "as reasonably practicable" up to the band C standard by 2030.

The effort to improve energy efficiency of fuel poor homes would begin with the coldest, leakiest and draftiest properties, so that governments would be required to lift as many as possible to band E by 2020 and to band D by 2025.

The proposals also include measures to give domestic tenants the right to request their landlords carry out energy efficiency improvements from 2016.

And from 2018 the least energy efficient rental properties will not be allowed to be let until they are improved to an energy performance certificate rating of band E.

But the improvements to the properties must be financeable without any compulsory upfront cost to the landlord, the Government said.

Ministers also said they would encourage and learn from local "insulation on prescription" trials for those suffering health problems which are caused by living in cold homes which are too expensive to heat.

The trials have seen patients receive home energy improvements worth as much as £5,000 each, Decc said.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said: "These proposals mark a radical shift away from old policies of tinkering at the edges without tackling the root causes of fuel poverty - homes that need too much energy and leak too much to be able to keep warm.

"We'll target the worst properties first, where people in the most extreme cases face paying over £1,500 more than they need to.

"We'll work with partners - including GPs and others working in healthcare - to make sure the right help gets to those who need it the most.

"And today I'm reaffirming our commitment to the most vulnerable households by confirming that the current levels of help they are getting through the energy company obligation (ECO) will be maintained, and will continue for an extra two years - helping over half a million more low income households."

The Government recently faced criticism from a coalition of fuel poverty campaigners who said installation of measures to help homes save energy had collapsed as a result of Government policies.

The number of energy efficiency measures installed under national programmes fell 60% in the past year, down from a peak of 1.65 million in 2012/13 to 661,000 in 2013/2014, research commissioned by the Energy Bill Revolution campaign showed.

The huge drop was down to the decision to axe the "warm front" scheme, the only Government-funded energy efficiency programme for poor households, and failures in its other energy saving schemes, the campaigners claimed.

The campaign called for all low income homes to be raised to band C by 2025.

But the Government's proposals were welcomed by the chairman of the independent Fuel Poverty Advisory Group (FPAG), Derek Lickorish, who said: " I am cautiously optimistic that the new law will drive significant improvements to the living conditions of the fuel poor across England.

"As we move towards a band C, and as insulation and heating technology improves and becomes cheaper, there will be no let-up by FPAG in striving to reach this target by an earlier date.

"For many fuel poor households, action is needed now - so it's right to have specific ambitions for the nearer-term too, starting with those in the deepest fuel poverty.

"The new target should galvanise much-needed activity across the country so that we can make a real difference to people's lives by reducing anxiety and ill health."

Paul King, chief executive of the UK Green Building Council, said: "It's great that Government has listened to industry and provided more details on one of the most eagerly awaited and potentially powerful drivers for low-energy buildings.

"More than any other policy, this will put energy efficiency firmly on the agenda whenever homes and commercial buildings are let."

Miles Keeping, partner at Deloitte Real Estate, added: " The commercial property sector in its broad sense - that's landlords, occupiers, developers and advisers - welcomes the prospect of having certainty in this area which will enable appropriate investment in improving the efficiency of buildings.

"The consultation has been a long time in coming, let's hope we can move forward to regulatory certainty as quickly as possible."

Fuel poverty and environmental campaigners accused the Government of a "meaningless" pledge to improve the energy efficiency of poor households.

Friends of the Earth fuel poverty campaigner Sophie Neuburg said: "Once again the Government is failing those struggling to pay their fuel bills - their promise to bring fuel-poor homes up to reasonable energy efficiency levels by 2030 is too little, too late.

"The caveat only to do what is 'reasonably practicable' makes the pledge meaningless.

"There must be a firm Government commitment to bring all low-income homes up to high energy efficiency standards, with no get-out clauses."

Ed Matthew, director of the Energy Bill Revolution fuel poverty alliance, said the Government had recognised that energy efficiency was the only long-term solution to end the fuel poverty crisis.

"But this strategy is so full of holes they will never plug the UK's fuel-poor homes. The target to bring all fuel-poor homes up to EPC Band C by 2030 is too far away and they have not committed to bringing homes up to this standard in one go, killing off the prospect of whole-house retrofits and condemning millions of people to suffer the scourge of fuel poverty for yet another generation.

"Also, by saying the Government only has to do what is 'reasonably practicable' they don't have to spend a penny on the programme. This makes the targets they are setting meaningless.

"If the Government is serious about ending the fuel poverty scandal they need to make home energy efficiency a priority infrastructure investment and put the funding firmly in place to modernise the UK's crumbling building stock once and for all."