Calls for review of Government’s fuel poverty strategy

Monday, 20 October 2008

With winter just around the corner, concerns once again turn to keeping the elderly warm.

Director General of Age Concern, Gordon Lishman, feels that the Government’s fuel poverty strategy should be revised, with new policies and measures for older people.

He has stated that this winter could turn into a very bleak one for a third of all pensioner households which are currently fuel poor, and any further energy price rises in the New Year could put many tens of thousands more pensioners into fuel poverty.

Age Concern wants mandatory social tariffs – offering the lowest market rate – to be made compulsorily available to vulnerable households.

Mr Lishman called on energy companies and the Government to take radical action so that poor pensioners and other households in need are able to afford the energy required to get through the harsh winter ahead.

Age Concern called on the Government to use the £400 million taken in from extra VAT revenue on fuel price increases to help those who are in fuel poverty. The charity also said that the Warm Front programme was in urgent need of review, that funding should be increased by 25%, and the maximum available grant increased as well.

Mr Lishman said that the current pricing system was failing the poorest customers. He also said it was disgraceful that many of them had to pay more for their energy than wealthier households.

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