Fuel Poverty - When Will
The Government Get A Grip?
11th June 2009
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee Announcement today acknowledges the imminent failure of the Government to end fuel poverty in this country and urges it to take decisive action now. uSwitch.com comments on the announcement and the proposals being put forward to help the 5.2 million households now estimated to be living in fuel poverty.
uSwitch.com research shows that fuel poverty can no longer be seen as a ‘pensioner issue’ as its net is spreading wider. While 30% of pensioner households are in fuel poverty, so are 20% of families with one income and 17% of single person working households.
Tom Lyon, energy expert at uSwitch.com, says: "The Select Committee has identified the need for joined-up thinking from the Government, the energy industry and all the different agencies involved in helping to tackle fuel poverty in the UK. At the moment there are lots of groups working towards this aim, but unfortunately no signs of a cohesive or well thought through plan to make sure that they meet the goal."
"If this Government is to stand any chance of tackling fuel poverty it has got to get a grip on the issue and it has got to do it now before further energy price rises push yet more households over the top. As the number of households involved mounts, so the Government's statutory obligation moves further out of reach and the fuel poverty problem begins to look more and more insurmountable."
"As well as bringing all fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes under one roof, we would like to see the Winter Fuel Payment targeted from this winter onwards, so that this money only goes to those who need it. We would also like to see far more emphasis being placed on the availability and communication of social tariffs to those who need them."
"Tackling fuel poverty is a mammoth task, but getting the right building blocks in place to begin with is a good way to start. The Select Committee has set out to do this with its recommendations today. We just hope that the Government does not let this last-chance opportunity slip by."
For more information visit www.uSwitch.com or call 0800 093 06 07
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