One-tenth of all households in Croydon are living in fuel poverty, according to a senior City Hall figure, meaning that more than 14,000 families in the borough could be forced to choose whether to heat or eat this Christmas.
Fiona Twycross: fuel poverty is a growing problem
Fiona Twycross, the Labour London Assembly Member who is also a Croydon resident, today released the figures of those who are struggling to be able to afford to heat their homes, as the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced a trial scheme to provide some hard-pressed households with new, more fuel-efficient boilers which could save a family £150 per year in heating bills.
“It’s terrible that so many people in Croydon are struggling with their energy bills, and in many cases are having to choose whether to heat or eat,” Twycross said.
“I welcome the Mayor’s announcement to take action. This scheme will help many Londoners living in cold homes – I look forward to seeing the results of the pilot and hope the scheme can be expanded. I would also urge people to make sure they are on the best energy deal – over two-thirds of households in Britain are on variable tariffs which are usually more expensive than fixed deals.”
Twycross’s figures are based on Government research which shows that nearly 10 per cent of Londoners – almost 350,000 households according to the latest available figures, and up by 22,000 over the previous 12-month period – are finding it difficult to afford to heat their homes.
The main causes for fuel poverty are poorly insulated buildings, high energy costs, and low pay.
Mayor Khan’s £1 million Better Boilers scheme will only scratch the surface of the issue, by repairing the boilers in 500 homes or replacing them with ultra-low emissions appliances. The new boilers will also reduce carbon emissions and reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Ofgem, the energy market regulator, recently published data comparing how much customers on standard variable tariffs with each supplier could save by switching to a cheaper deal. Around 66 per cent of all households are on standard variable tariffs, which Ofgem say are typically more expensive than fixed deals.
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And how many of those in fuel “poverty” have Sky tv with movies and sport, an iPhone or several, eat regularly at McDonalds, smoke 20 fags a day and are wearing the latest Ugg boots?
There is no such thing as poverty in this country.
Try looking at the very sad sights in India, Africa etc etc. That is genuine poverty.
Poverty is this country is the biggest con going.
Go on then David, answer your own question, tell us how many in fuel poverty have all those luxuries you seem so jealous of.
There is NO poverty in this country. The only people who cannot afford food and or heat are those who CHOOSE to spend their money very unwisely. The system in this country allows for everyone to have a roof over their heads, money for food and money to pay their bills. Unfortunately there are too many people who would rather waste their money on daft non-essential items, leaving themselves skint on their own accord.
No one says unemployment is easy, but never the less the headline of this article does rather make excuses for irresponsible people.