Over two million children are ‘growing up cold’ in England, according to new figures released today, as a poll suggests that UK parents are sacrificing buying family essentials in order to heat their homes.
The shocking figures from ACE Research for the Energy Bill Revolution show the number of children living in fuel poverty has increased by 460,000 over the past year, a dramatic 26% rise.
The sky high fuel poverty figures are a result of high energy bills, cuts to Government support for the fuel poor and the woeful standards of insulation of Britain’s homes.
The figures are based on a new definition of fuel poverty for England, which has been officially adopted by the Government. It classifies someone as ‘fuel poor’ if they live below the poverty line and have an energy bill higher than the median.
Under this new definition, there are 7 million people in total living in fuel poverty in England.
A poll released today by the Energy Bill Revolution, the world’s largest fuel poverty campaign, shows that one in five (19%) of Britons have switched off the heating this winter to save money, despite being cold at home. And half of people (48%) said they have cut back on other spending in order to pay to heat their homes, with sacrifices including school equipment and clothing, or food for the family.
The figures come ahead of Cold Homes Week (3rd – 7th February), a week of action coordinated by the Energy Bill Revolution, during which some of Britain’s biggest charities and businesses will pile pressure on the Government to invest in home insulation as the only way to solve the fuel poverty problem once and for all. During the week over a hundred organisations and tens of thousands are expected to ask their MP to support the Energy Bill Revolution campaign to end fuel poverty.
Ed Matthew, director of the Energy Bill Revolution, said: “That 7 million English people are struggling in fuel poverty is a national tragedy and the Government’s efforts to solve the problem have so far been utterly inadequate. There’s a simple solution to this crisis – we must stop our homes leaking heat. The Government must make this the UK’s number one infrastructure spending priority. Better insulation will save families hundreds of pounds on their energy bills and eliminate fuel poverty once and for all.
“Next week the biggest fuel poverty alliance the world has ever seen will call on the Government to stop dithering and start acting to make warm homes affordable for everyone.”
Barnardo’s Ambassador, actress Michelle Collins, said: “It’s tragic that in a developed country like the UK so many families are living in fuel poverty. All too often parents are having to make the desperate choice between heating and buying essential items, like school uniforms, for their children.
That is why I’m supporting Cold Homes Week, to get better insulation for the homes of the UK’s most vulnerable families and help put an end to the suffering of the 2.2 million children growing up cold.”
Commenting on the figures, Labour MP Caroline Flint said they “lay bare the full scale of the cost-of-living crisis unfolding in Britain”.
“It is a disgrace that hundreds of thousands of children have been pushed into fuel poverty because of David Cameron’s failure to stand up to the energy companies.”
“That’s why the next Labour government will undertake the biggest overhaul of our energy market since privatisation. Our plans will break up the big energy companies, put an end to their secret deals and make tariffs simpler and fairer. And until these reforms kick-in, we will put a stop to unfair price rises by freezing energy bills until 2017, saving the average family £120.”
