Cash-strapped families feeling heat of rising fuel prices

by Claire Miller, WalesOnline
Families could be risking their children’s health or getting into debt in a bid to pay rising fuel bills, campaigners have warned.
Low-income families in Wales who face this “stark” choice are often missing out on money to help heat their homes this winter, Save the Children says.
The charity has warned that the vast majority of Welsh parents who cannot afford to heat their home this winter are not getting the help they need from energy suppliers.
Its new research reveals that at least 45,280 families with children in Wales are eligible for cold Weather Payments but worryingly many say they have not heard of or know how to apply for them.

On top of this, these families should also qualify for a £120 discount on fuel bills under the Warm Homes Discount scheme.
However, the UK Government’s scheme currently reaches just 3% of Britain’s families at risk of fuel poverty, 25,000 out of 800,000 across the country, because energy companies have not committed enough funds this year.
James Pritchard, head of Save the Children in Wales said: “It’s unacceptable that so many of Wales’s poorest families who need help heating their homes this winter will get nothing because energy companies have not put up nearly enough money.
“Without this help the choice for parents is stark: cut back on food, get into debt or risk their children’s health because they can’t afford to keep them warm. The scheme urgently needs millions more from the energy companies, or the cost will be counted in children’s futures.”
The figures come after a study by USwitch comparison website saw Wales branded the ‘Fuel Poverty Capital of Britain’ with almost a third (32%) of households suffering.
Save the Children’s No Child Left in the Cold campaign is calling on energy companies and the Government to urgently fill this funding gap, so that all families eligible for the fuel discount get it.
It is also calling on the Welsh and UK governments to support and invest in energy efficient measures as a way to reduce fuel poverty for low income families and for Welsh Government initiatives such as Arbed and Nest to be integrated effectively with UK-wide support programmes to make sure Welsh families will get all of the help available to them.
Lindsey Kearton, energy specialist at Consumer Focus Wales, said: “It would be brilliant if the energy suppliers would adopt this sensible and needed call from Save the Children to extend the Warm Homes Discount to fuel poor families. But that seems an optimistic hope.
“Consumer Focus Wales has been calling for Government action to mandate an extension of the scheme from the core group of low income pensioners who already receive automatic payments based on benefits they receive from the DWP, to include other low income groups like families.
“We would urge anyone who thinks they might be in hardship to talk to their supplier and see what help they can provide. There really is no harm in asking. And do it today, as some of the companies cap their discretionary support schemes once a certain number of people have signed up – so the sooner you take action, the greater your chance of success.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said it remains committed to tackling fuel poverty and recognises the impact of the rising cost of energy, along with other household bills, on families across the UK.
However, he said two of the three factors critical to helping eradicate fuel poverty, that is energy prices and income levels, are essentially outside of the Welsh Government’s control.
He said: “We are concerned that households should not pay more than is necessary for their energy. It is essential that energy suppliers ensure that falls in wholesale prices are translated into a reduction in costs for consumers as soon as possible and that consumers are directed to the most appropriate tariff to meet their needs.
“Our Fuel Poverty strategy and our fuel poverty scheme, Nest, demonstrate our determination to focus our investment on the most inefficient housing stock and in the homes of the people who find it most difficult to heat their homes and pay their energy bills.
“Since the establishment of our Home Energy Efficiency Scheme in 2001, which was replaced by Nest in 2011, we have invested more than £134m to help make more than 124,000 Welsh homes more energy efficient.
“Our approach is strengthened by our strategic energy efficiency scheme, Arbed which is taking an area-based approach to driving up the energy performance of homes in some of the most deprived areas in Wales and has seen an investment of £60m in Welsh homes.
“Our programmes also ensure that householders struggling to keep their homes warm can receive advice on debt and maximising their income.”