Energy Bills Archives - Page 7 of 11 - End Fuel Poverty Coalition

Poorest constituencies missing out on support for energy bills

New analysis of Government data by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition has revealed that some of the poorest constituencies in the country had some of the highest levels of undelivered or unredeemed payments through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. [1]

Westminster Constituency-specific data shows that some of the constituencies with the highest levels of child poverty were the least likely to get the full amount of support payments that they were owed.

In Brent Central, where more than a third of households with children are in poverty [2], more than one in twenty (6.18%) of vouchers were not delivered or redeemed.

Meanwhile in Liverpool Riverside, more than 22,000 (5.19% of payments) were not processed, even though more than 7,000 families are in poverty.

The latest UK-wide figures show that millions of pounds worth of support has not made it to the households that it was meant for, with the majority of that due to those on prepayment energy meters (PPMs).

In the constituency of Hampstead & Kilburn, 43% of vouchers issued to PPM households have not been redeemed. And while the problem is worst in London, other places across England have also been hit hard. In Bradford West, a third of vouchers are still to be claimed, in places such as Preston or Pendle, the figure is 29%.

Scotland’s voucher redemption rate (26% left unclaimed) is worse than everywhere else in the UK apart from London (32%). Constituencies such as Edinburgh East, Edinburgh North & Leith, Glasgow North (all 36%) and Inverclyde (35%) all have low take up rates.

The government provided households across the country with £400 of energy bills support from October 2022 until March 2023 through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. For traditional prepayment meter customers, this support came in the form of vouchers delivered monthly by text, email or post.

The deadline to collect any missed payments is 11.59pm on 30th June.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, which is part of the Warm This Winter campaign, commented:

“Far too often support payments under this scheme have not found their way to vulnerable households. There is now less than a week to go before this support will be lost to households forever.

“If anyone feels they have missed out on Energy Bills Support Scheme payments they should contact their energy firm immediately.”

Frazer Scott, CEO of Energy Action Scotland commented “Over 1 in 3 households in Scotland are in fuel poverty and are struggling to access heat and power to maintain their health and wellbeing. Energy debt levels are rising yet vital support is not reaching people. Legacy prepayment meter households should be receiving the support to which they are entitled. It isn’t right and it isn’t fair that so many voucher remain unredeemed.”

Jonathan Bean of Fuel Poverty Action said: “As usual in our cruel energy system, those that need the help most are not getting it. Government and energy firms are failing vulnerable people again. Extra time and effort is needed to sort out this mess.”

ENDS

[1] End Fuel Poverty Coalition analysis of official Government data published on 20 June 2023. All data is available to download from: EFPC EBSS Calculations energy-bills-support-scheme-gb-payments-june-2023

[2] End Child Poverty Coalition / Loughborough University data https://endchildpoverty.org.uk/child-poverty/

Call for Help To Repay scheme as energy bills debt soars

An estimated 5.5 million UK adults are now in energy bills debt, according to new research from the Money Advice Trust.

The latest findings confirm the heavy toll that high energy bills are taking on household finances with 2.1 million more people in energy arrears in April 2023 than in March last year and millions struggling to access help from their energy suppliers.

The figures are also more than previous data from the Warm This Winter campaign suggested earlier this year.

In the wake of the research, the End Fuel Poverty Coalition has joined forces with Money Advice Trust, StepChange Debt Charity, Warm This Winter and other organisations to ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to set up a ‘Help To Repay’ repayment-matching scheme.

Campaigners believe this will provide a safe route out of debt for struggling households.

The Money Advice Trust research finds that millions more households were struggling with their energy costs in April than in March 2022, with support from energy suppliers – which is vital to help them repay arrears – proving difficult to access.

While support is available from energy providers for people who are struggling, an estimated 3.9 million people (7 percent) said they have not been able to access help for their bills after contacting their suppliers for support.

A further 3.2 million people (6 percent) reported not being able to get through and contact their supplier for help when they had tried to do so.

Joanna Elson CBE, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline and Business Debtline, said:
“Energy bills might finally be falling – but for millions of households, the effects of this cost of living crisis are already baked in. With more people falling behind on energy and other essential bills and millions facing unaffordable demands for repayment, we need urgent action to make sure everyone has access to a safe route out of debt.

“The government has already provided substantial support to help with the cost of living – but no-one should underestimate the scale of this continued crisis.

“The Help To Repay payment-matching scheme we are proposing will help those who otherwise will simply not be able to dig themselves out of the energy arrears that this crisis has created. And for those most in need, the government should introduce an Essentials Guarantee to link the rate of Universal Credit to cover the cost of essential goods like food and energy.”

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“Energy debt is surging to unprecedented levels and it’s clear that households are just unable to cope.

“The majority of this new debt is caused by the record high energy prices which have caused misery for millions, but generated excess profits for the firms involved in Britain’s broken energy system.

“Rather than end the Windfall Tax early, as the Government plans to do, it should instead look at how this could be used to help get those people suffering back on an even keel.

“Not only would this help reduce levels of fuel poverty now and into next winter, but it will also help wider household finances, ensuring people no longer have to cut back on essentials.”

Research by the University of Bristol has found only 26% of households have not had to take measures to cut back on spending and the majority of people are now taking steps to cut costs in one or more areas.

A third (35%) were not able to afford a healthy balanced diet at least once in the past month and one in five of those in serious financial difficulties had not eaten for a whole day at least three times during the last month.

Free, expert advice is available from charity-run services like National Debtline.

Full detail of the Help To Repay proposal submitted to the Government can be read online: https://moneyadvicetrust.org/media/documents/Help_to_Repay_-_Energy_arrears_scheme_proposal.pdf

Plans to axe energy Windfall Tax branded premature

The Government has set out plans to wind down the Windfall Tax on energy firms in response to demands from the industry.

Analysts from Uplift told Sky News that the introduction of this price floor will further undermine an already weak windfall tax and paving the way for further oil and gas extraction.

The Energy Profits Levy already contained a loophole which could have helped tackle fuel poverty last winter, as well as acting as a handout to the fossil fuel industry with the UK government expected to give highly profitable oil & gas companies £11.4 billion in tax breaks to develop new fields.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“Energy bills are predicted to remain high and levels of household energy debt are still surging.

“Any talk of reducing or ending the windfall tax while millions still struggle through the energy bills crisis is premature.

“The Government should keep all options on the table to ensure the funding is available to fix Britain’s broken energy system into the long term.”

The decision has been described as shortsighted in light of the lack of long-term certainty about energy bills and Greenpeace UK’s climate campaigner, Georgia Whitaker, said:

“The Government’s windfall tax on oil and gas companies already contains more loopholes than a block of Swiss cheese. And now they want to scrap it altogether.”

Public urged to claim energy bills vouchers before June deadline

The government is urging UK energy customers with a prepayment meter (PPM) to redeem any unclaimed Energy Bill Support Scheme vouchers before they expire at the end of June.

Claim Your Energy Voucher day takes place on May 31, and marks one month until unredeemed vouchers are due to expire.

Previous data revealed that in some areas of the country more than 1 in 20 payments were not delivered or claimed during the scheme.

The latest government data shows that energy firms still owe £130m to households through unredeemed PPM vouchers.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“We’ve been calling on the government for some time to rectify this situation and ensure that every household receives the support that they are owed.

“We are delighted that they are listening, and we urge every PPM customer to double-check that they received and redeemed their full £400 in vouchers during the scheme.”

The Government advises that if customers have their vouchers already, they must take their ID and vouchers to a Post Office or Paypoint to redeem them before June 30.

Those on a traditional prepayment meters who have not received the vouchers, or are unsure of how to redeem them, or need a voucher to be reissued, should contact their energy supplier.

Households using prepayment meters who use alternative fuels such as LPG, heating oil or biomass as the main way they heat their homes also have until June 30 to use their vouchers worth up to £200 in energy bills support.

Other households who are due support through an “alternative method” (such as those in park homes or on care home complexes) have also to apply for the scheme, with the Mirror revealing that just 13% of eligible households had applied.

Price cap warning as Ofgem set summer bills

Millions of domestic energy customers will see their energy bills stay at near record highs.

The latest Ofgem Price Cap announcement has set new prices for what consumers will pay for energy from 1 July 2023, with the average household seeing an energy bill of £2,074. If customers use more than the average consumption, they will still pay more than this figure as the cap limits the unit cost, not the total bill.

Up until as recently as March, the average household energy bill stood at £2,100 due to the impact of Government support programmes. Last summer, average bills were £1,971 meaning energy will be 5.23% more expensive in summer 2023.

Predictions are that future price caps will set average energy bills at £1,976 from 1 October and rising back to £2,045 from 1 January 2024.

According to End Fuel Poverty Coalition records, this means that energy bills will be roughly:

DOUBLE what they were in 2020.
60% ABOVE what they were before the invasion of Ukraine.
At a similar level to last winter, but with people having less ability to pay as the crisis continues.

Anne Vivian-Smith, a disabled former community worker from Nottingham, said:

“Last winter I couldn’t keep myself warm as energy bills soared. To learn that I might have to face the same level of energy bills again is a frightening prospect. Other bills have gone up and the cost of living has soared – we’re less able to pay our bills now than we were last winter.”

Junnie Braithwaite is 56 and lives in northeast London. Her socially rented apartment is split over two floors, and she needs to use a stairlift because of fibromyalgia and arthritis. She said:

“It’s give with the one hand and take with the other, I might get a few quid off my energy bill but that’s swallowed up by food prices going through the roof. I still don’t have peace of mind and I am already dreading next winter when my energy bills will go up again.”

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“The sting in the tail to this announcement is that customers are still going to be paying roughly the same for their energy as last winter.

“And after months of inflation and the wider cost of living crisis, people are even less able to afford these high energy bills.

“The government needs to use the summer to fix Britain’s broken energy system, because for millions of people the energy bills crisis is far from over. This means ramping up energy efficiency programmes, helping the public with energy debt and reforming energy pricing arrangements so people don’t suffer again this winter.”

Research for the Warm This Winter campaign found that over 9 million adults lived in cold damp homes in winter 2022/23 and official figures showed cases of hypothermia surged by 36%.

Tessa Khan, Director of Uplift which is part of the Warm This Winter campaign, commented:

“Britain’s broken energy system is set to cause another winter of misery, with fuel poverty affecting many of the most vulnerable. But as people continue to struggle through the energy bills crisis, the energy producers will continue to reap record profits.”

Fixed term deals which may now come onto the market may not be the solution, with recent figures from Future Energy Associates show that these may boost energy firms’ profits and be more expensive to consumers than the standard variable tariff.

The Government has announced funding to help with the cost of living, but it will not help around 1.7 million households in fuel poverty and represents a real-terms cut in support compared to last year.

Other inequalities in the energy market will remain with customers paying by standard credit (i.e. paying by cash, cheque or bank transfer) hit with a significant price premium.

Meanwhile some regions, such as Merseyside and North Wales will pay substantially more than others, such as those in the East Midlands.

Bethan Sayed from Climate Cymru said:

“The regional inequalities are deeply unfair, with people in North Wales paying substantially more than other parts of the UK for their energy. This is compounded by people living in old, leaky homes or off grid, and those on prepayment meters getting less energy for their money. This needs to change.”

Jonathan Bean from Fuel Poverty Action added:

“As people sink deeper into debt, basics like washing your clothes are becoming unaffordable luxuries for many. We need long-term solutions to fix Britain’s unfair energy system, such as providing a free ‘energy for all’ allowance for those that need it.”

Energy Bills Support Scheme gaps hit areas of high fuel poverty

New analysis of Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) data reveals that in some areas of the country more than one in twenty payments were not delivered or vouchers left redeemed.

Regional data from the first five months of the scheme has revealed the areas with the highest rates for missed payments are some of the areas hardest hit by fuel poverty.

These include the London Borough of Brent where 6.62% of payments have not been delivered or redeemed, Birmingham (4.68%), Stoke (4.00%), Wolverhampton (4.26%), Coventry (3.86%) and Sandwell (4.21%).

Rural areas are also hit with poor delivery rates, such as Na h-Eileanan Siar (4.86%), Pendle (4.28%) and even Rishi Sunak’s own backyard of Richmondshire (4.08%, which equates to £285k still owed to his constituents by energy firms).

In Scotland, the Herald reports that that the value of these missed payments tops £29m. In cities like Birmingham, Glasgow and Leeds, the value of these missed payments are over £4m a piece.

Data for the full scheme also reveals that energy firms still owe £241m to households through the support scheme, a majority of that being through unclaimed PPM vouchers with new figures expected to be published next week.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, which is part of the Warm This Winter campaign, commented:

“Since the initial revelations about the missing payments, it is welcome that energy firms have made more effort to track down customers and deliver payments to them, but this work must continue until they have exhausted every avenue to get money into the hands of people who need it.

“However, what is very concerning about these figures, is that the Energy Bills Support Scheme is not getting through to the very areas of the country which need it most.

“In towns and cities, which will also be the battlegrounds in the next general election, households have been left in the cold this winter as payments are not getting through and vouchers are left unredeemed.

“But even in rural areas – where many homes have also suffered from delays in payments not shown in these figures by being offgrid – there are still massive gaps in the support getting through.

“If anyone feels they have missed out on Energy Bills Support Scheme payments they should contact their energy firm immediately.”

Frazer Scott, CEO of Energy Action Scotland, said:

“It is simply disgraceful that so many households have been failed by Government support. The EBSS vouchers expire in June and it is now unlikely that most of these households will now receive some or all of the £400 to which they are entitled.

“People will have simply gone without heat and power across the coldest months putting their health and wellbeing at risk. It is made all the more difficult due to the credit holding limitations of older prepayment electricity meters. This ranges from £99 to £250 depending on your meter and supplier. The larger the outstanding voucher value, if you have it, the more difficult it may be to apply it.

“Those living in rural areas face even more barriers to accessing the value of their vouchers with many having to pay significant travel costs to access their local post office or other redemption point.

“It isn’t right that those in the lowest incomes are enduring yet another unfairness in a system that for the majority, including the most wealthy of households, people with multiple homes, was provided automatically.”

Any money unclaimed by the public or undelivered by the energy firms is due to be returned to the Government after deadline for claims to the scheme ends in June.

ENDS

Full Data Set Available: EFPC April energy-bills-support-scheme-gb-payments-april-2023

Forced PPM threats still a problem for vulnerable households

Energy companies are continuing to threaten households with warrants for entry to forcibly install prepayment meters (PPMs), despite a voluntary end to the practice coming into force in February 2023.

BBC Radio 4’s You & Yours programme and the I newspaper has reported that energy firms who agreed to the voluntary ban are continuing to threaten households with forced installation.

The forced installation of prepayment meters is especially a concern for vulnerable households, as changing to a PPM runs the risk of households having to suddenly stop using energy as the meter runs out of money, which can mean that these people will suffer the worst effects of living in cold damp homes during winter months.

Desperate consumers have taken to social media asking for advice after they have continued to receive threats of court warrants for forced installation of prepayment meters from their energy companies.

Screenshots posted to an online group show email and post correspondence from debt collection firms and energy companies claiming that they will obtain a court warrant to forcibly enter their properties and install the meter.

Many of the threats posted from energy companies are taken from emails and letters sent after the voluntary end to forced installation was imposed earlier in 2023.

One woman based in Scotland complained that Scottish Power had failed to replace her faulty meter for three years, meaning that all of her readings during this time had been estimated. In screenshots of email correspondence, Conexus (employed by Scottish Power) insist that she must settle outstanding debt based on estimated readings or they will apply for a warrant of entry via the courts. The woman claims that the debt company has hounded her for some time and refused to discuss the matter with Scottish Power.

Another couple who are vulnerable, receiving benefits and suffering from chronic health conditions, highlighted that their energy company OVO had failed to take their vulnerable status (and the fact that they are on the Priority Services Register) into account and had passed their case to a debt collection agency. This agency is now threatening to apply for a warrant for forcible installation of a prepayment meter in the couple’s home.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“Energy firms are just not getting the message. The forced prepayment meters scandal should have been a wake up call as to how they treat their customers. But the evidence is mounting that this is not the case. It appears that they continue to threaten people with prepayment meters. This causes huge amounts of distress to often vulnerable households.

“It’s clear that the voluntary approach to banning forced prepayment meters is just not working and MPs must now act to bring in a legal ban to the practice through the Energy Bill.

“It’s no longer enough for MPs just to claim they support vulnerable customers. They need to take the action required to ban forced prepayment meters.”

Almost three-quarters of the public would back changes to the Energy Bill to ensure the Government introduces a legal ban to the forced transfer of homes onto PPMs, according to figures from the Warm This Winter campaign.

An amendment to the Energy Bill has been tabled by Anne McLaughlin MP to bring in such a ban and the End Fuel Poverty Coalition urges all MPs to add their names to support amendments NC1 and NC2 during the committee stage of the legislation.

A recent investigation by the i paper found that in total over 13,000 warrants for entry have been issued by courts to energy firms since the voluntary end was introduced in February, with the Ministry of Justice unable to confirm why these warrants were granted.

Energy firms set for profits boost from fixed tariffs

Research from Future Energy Associates has estimated that two energy firms that have offered new fixed tariffs are set to rake in an average of £484 and £469 respectively in profit on each customer. [1]

The profits will be driven by energy firms buying energy at a fixed cost and selling it to customers at a level below the current Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), but above the likely level of energy bills when the Ofgem price cap comes back into force for consumers from 1 July.

Analysts predict that based on an average household bill under the expected Ofgem Price Cap of £2,064 [2], customers who switch to the deal will lose out by £212 on the Ovo fix or £197 on the SSE offer compared to sticking to the Government’s EPG rate and then moving to a variable tariff governed by the Ofgem price cap from 1 July. [3]

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition which is part of the Warm This Winter campaign, commented:

“The Wild West of the energy market is back, with energy firms trying to make a quick buck from people’s confusion with their energy bills.

“They are playing on the cost of living crisis to try and tempt customers onto a deal that offers security, but appears to come at a very high price to their pocket. People continue to be penalised by Britain’s broken energy system.”

Clem Atwood from Future Energy Associates, commented:

“After record breaking power prices of last winter we are now seeing forward electricity prices come down, meaning suppliers are now paying less for power than accounted for by Ofgem’s price cap.

“While costs continue to come down, suppliers will look to exploit consumer desires to move onto lower rate tariffs by trying to fix customers at close to current rates. Our analysis of costs shows that recent fixed tariffs are likely to make suppliers around 20% profit, whilst fixing customers at unit rates above the forecasted Ofgem price cap.”

Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said:

“Energy companies are addicted to trying to make eye-watering profits at every turn. Having raked in billions in a matter of months from both government support schemes and the pain felt by businesses, they are now starting to turn again to our energy bills.

“It is yet another sign that the government needs to step in and fix the UK’s broken energy system. We need a complete overhaul of the system, including switching to cheaper renewables and funding for insulation, not a return to the bad old days of profiteering energy firms ripping us off.”

Jacky Peacock, Head of Policy at Advice for Renters, commented:

“Many of the families we assist have restricted their energy use to two hours a day and may well think that the fixed price guarantee will result in a saving. We’ll be doing our best to warn them to avoid such offers which are little short of scams.”

Ruth London from Fuel Poverty Action added:

“After all the misery suppliers have inflicted on their customers – unpayable bills, break-ins to impose unwanted prepayment meters, ill health, and cold, dark homes – is this a time for dirty tricks? The suppliers are playing on people’s fears and when we can’t pay their inflated prices we will be blamed and punished for going into debt.”

Notes to Editors

The content of this story is provided based on the assumptions below and the analysis by energy data experts. It should not be taken as formal financial advice. The prices of energy are correct at the time of analysis and may change considerably from the predictions made here.

[1] Tariffs examined: Ovo 1 year fix and SSE 1 Year Fix v28. Supplier Profits Calculated Utilising Comprehensive Methodology from Future Energy Associates (FEA), outlined below. In order to evaluate supplier profits, a comprehensive methodology was employed, which encompassed several steps as detailed below:

Firstly, the FEA collected electricity forward prices for a 12-month period, which is the level an energy supplier could be expected to pay for the energy they then re-sell to domestic customers.
Subsequently, electricity wholesale prices were calculated for each quarter, with both seasonal fluctuations and peak/base prices taken into consideration.
These wholesale prices were adjusted according to each of the non-wholesale price components present in a typical household bill. The analysis differentiated between components that adapt to decreasing wholesale prices and those that remain fixed, irrespective of wholesale price fluctuations.
Following this, electricity retail price unit rates were calculated by multiplying the annual Ofgem consumption values and standing charge forecasts. This process yielded the electricity portion of the household bill.
With respect to gas, the same difference ratio between gas and electricity prices, as derived from Cornwall Insight’s price cap forecasts, was assumed.
Lastly, gas and electricity prices were combined to determine the annual household energy bills, thereby allowing for a comprehensive assessment of supplier profits.

A chart is available which shows that, for the average household, fixing now would result in a higher bill. This model assumes that the whole difference between the cost to the consumer and the cost to the supplier is profit. This assumption is a fair one as Ofgem and suppliers regularly correspond on the costs incurred by suppliers in delivering supply to consumers, which Ofgem then reflects every quarter in its price cap calculations (and therefore has been reflected in the operating cost assumptions made by this model). This process ensures energy firms should not be subject to significant operating losses on providing domestic supply.

This is summarised in the table below.

OVO, SSE Case Study (all numbers are GBP)
Tariff Names	OVO 1 Year Fixed 23 March 2023	SSE 1 Year Fixed v38
Annual Costs to households £	2275	2260

Ofgem Price Caps / EPG	Forecasted Average Ofgem Price Cap (01/04/23 – 30/0304/24)		See note [2]
Annual Costs to households £	2063		See note [2]

Tariff Names	OVO 1 Year Fixed 23 March 2023	SSE 1 Year Fixed v38	Notes
Annual Excess Costs To Households	212	197	I.e. difference between fixed tariff and average Ofgem Price Cap
Annual Supplier Costs of buying energy	1791	1791	Based on FEA calculations on forward energy prices when fixed tariffs announced.
Annual Supplier Profits £	484	469	See above for assumptions.
Annual Profits %	21.27%	20.75%	As a percentage of the cost a consumer could be paying on the Ofgem Price Cap.

[2] Based on EPG, Ofgem Price Cap and latest Cornwall Insight predictions and adjusted by FEA to take into account a full year of price cap changes and the Energy Price Guarantee operating for part of the year.

[3] A chart is available to outline the current situation for energy bills in comparison to the fixed tariffs now on offer.

Lords back campaigners’ call for changes to hydrogen trials

The House of Lords backed calls from campaigners to prevent energy firms from passing the cost of proposed hydrogen development onto bill payers.

But they failed to back calls to ban energy firms from forcibly entering people’s homes to convert their heating to hydrogen.

Plans are for the creation of “hydrogen village trials” which would force up to 2,000 homes in the trial area to convert their home heating and their appliances to hydrogen. The development of new sources of hydrogen were set to be paid for through a levy on households which was proposed in the Energy Bill.

Clauses also increased the powers of access granted to fossil fuel companies, which could theoretically involve forcibly installing hydrogen boilers without residents’ consent.

On Monday (24 April), the Energy Bill passed its latest stage in the House of Lords and will now move to the House of Commons where the Government can seek to overturn amendments – and MPs can try and introduce new changes.

An End Fuel Poverty Coalition explainer on how hydrogen could impact fuel poverty levels has been produced and can now be read online for people wanting to learn more about this new development: https://www.endfuelpoverty.org.uk/about-fuel-poverty/is-hydrogen-the-solution-to-high-energy-bills/

1.7m households in fuel poverty miss out on Government help

Almost two million households in severe fuel poverty will miss out on government help in 2023/24 according to new figures. [1]

Data produced by researchers at the University of York for Child Poverty Action Group has calculated that among those groups who will miss out are 688,000 fuel poor households with children. [2]

The figures also show that households in London, the North East and the North West are the most likely to miss out on Government help. Over 1m fuel poor owner-occupied households and over 500,000 struggling homes in the private rented sector will be among those who no longer get Government help.

The UK Government introduced new support packages for vulnerable households from 1 April 2023 to replace the Energy Bills Support Scheme and other programmes which ran over winter 2022/23. The new support includes payments of up to £900 for those households on some benefits, with the first instalments due to be paid this week.

Estimates based on Government data have also shown that over four million Energy Bills Support Scheme monthly payments of £66 or £67 from this winter had still to be made to or redeemed by households for the period October 2022 to February 2023. [3]

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“Millions of people will be worse off in 2023/24 as energy bills remain high, but support from the Government has fallen in real terms.

“Without further Government support and rapid roll out of energy efficiency programmes, the Dickensian conditions experienced by millions this winter will be replicated again. Until Britain’s broken energy system is reformed, we will continue to see households rely on Government support to help them through the energy bills crisis.”

Professor Jonathan Bradshaw, from the University of York’s Social Policy Research Unit, commented:

“This data answers an important question because it is an indication of the limits of using the receipt of social security benefits to mitigate fuel poverty, and suggests who might be the types of household that need to be targeted in other ways, including by some kind of social tariff.”

The main reason behind households being excluded is the link between cost of living payments and mean-tested benefits.

Alison Garnham, CEO of Child Poverty Action Group, said:

“The Government’s one-off cost-of-living payment is welcome, but this data shows it doesn’t go far enough. Flat-rate payments leave families with children, who have higher living costs, short-changed. Increasing child benefit, which lost a quarter of its value in the last decade and goes to lower and middle income households, is the first step to making sure struggling families have enough money to heat their homes.”

Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift which is part of the Warm This Winter campaign, added:

“The Government’s rehashed policies on energy efficiency fall miles short of the national programme of insulation and home upgrades that is needed to solve the fuel poverty crisis in the longer term. Ministers also continue to deny communities access to onshore wind, which is among the cheapest energy sources around and a resource we have in abundance. Instead Ministers are handing billions in subsidies to oil and gas developments that won’t lower bills or boost UK energy security, as most of it is oil for export.

“It is beyond time that this government delivered real policies that address the big issues affecting people’s lives, not least eye-watering energy bills.”

ENDS

[1] PDF available to download: https://cpag.org.uk/sites/default/files/files/policypost/Who_are_the_fuel_poor_revised.pdf. The figures are, if anything, an underestimate of the problem as the definition of fuel poverty used for these calculations is one of the most targeted available.

[2] 69 per cent of the households missing out are from the bottom three income deciles, 39 per cent are families with children, 59 per cent are living in owned/ mortgaged houses, 66 per cent are income poor.

[3] Calculations and data available from: https://www.endfuelpoverty.org.uk/energy-firms-holding-280m-of-taxpayers-cash-meant-for-customers/. Customers affected should contact their energy firm for advice and information on how to claim these payments.