With research from think tank Resolution Foundation uncovering that the cost-of-living crisis has left households almost £3,000 worse off than they would have been, Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, has said the Government should introduce an emergency heat tariff.
He said: “The cost-of-living crisis is an energy bills crisis, caused by our exposure to volatile gas prices which are now driving a sixth winter of misery for people who can’t take any more financial hits.
“Targeted help has to reach everyone who needs it. The extra £100 on the Warm Home Discount that the Chancellor is reportedly considering would not even restore the value the scheme once had, and it would miss hundreds of thousands of struggling households who are not on means-tested benefits.
“At the very least, Ministers must create a referral route so that health professionals, social workers and debt advisers can direct people most in need into additional financial help with their energy costs.
“With the price of gas predicted to pass 10p per kWh from January, the Government should also have an emergency heat tariff ready to protect people this winter. Given a handful of energy firms made £6 billion in profit on their UK operations in the first half of this year alone, there is plenty of money in the energy system, just not in the pockets of ordinary people.
“Of course, emergency support can only ever be a sticking plaster. The lasting answer is to get off gas and heating oil by helping households to upgrade the energy efficiency of their homes, reforming electricity pricing and investing in cheaper, homegrown renewables.”
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