As the cost of living rises, those on the lowest incomes will be hit hardest.

Families are under pressure and the government must act now.

Four million homes across the U.K are suffering in fuel poverty. According to National Energy Action, this number will increase by two million by April.

What is fuel poverty?

A household is in fuel poverty if they have outstanding fuel costs that if they are paid, they will fall below the poverty line. The household will slip into the energy efficiency rating of band D or below.

It is driven by three factors:

• Household income.
• The current cost of energy.
• The energy efficiency of the home.

Everyone should be able to stay warm at home.

While some people can pay their energy bills without a second thought, millions of people face the dilemma everyday of whether to feed their children or turn the heating on. The dilemma of whether to feed their children, buy clothes or turn the heating on shouldn’t be a choice anyone should have to make.

With spending 90% of our time indoors, people’s home environment has an effect on their physical and mental health. The cold weather can cause heart attacks, asthma and strokes.The lack of energy for home cooking and the financial pressure of unpaid bills can lead to poor nutrition and diet. Each year, a total of 10,000 people die as a result of living in a cold household.

The difficult cycle of rationing energy, and disconnecting it altogether can have a significant impact on someone’s mental health. Cold and damp homes take a toll, and it leads to increasing debt that becomes hard to manage.

Jessica’s Story

Jessica, can’t work due to health conditions and relies on universal credit. The removal of the £20 uplift made it harder to budget. When they came to us, they had £5 left on their prepayment metre. Jessica had no food in the house, and no money to travel to the nearest foodbank — they relied on family to cover travel costs.

There are too many people facing the same problem as Jessica everyday.

Fuel poverty affects everyone of all ages. People living in cold households with a lack of hot water have to face everyday with a cold shower. Children go to school without a shower, making use of public spaces such as libraries and leisure centres to take care of their personal hygiene. This can lead to children being bullied at school, and social isolation. The years a child attends school are crucial for their development. Living in a cold and damp environment affects a child’s ability to complete homework, which leads to reduced education.

What help is available to me?

Winter Fuel Payment — a £100 — £300 fuel payment for people born on or before the 25th of September 1995.

Cold Weather Payment — a £25 payment for every 7 days of very cold weather between November and March.

Warm Home Discount — a £140 discount for some people who receive pension credit or are in low-income households.

Household Support Fund- a funding package to help vulnerable households this winter. Contact your local authority for advice and help on whether you’re eligible.

To find out if you are eligible, visit our website.

Families are under pressure and the government must act now.

People need financial aid to help people kit out their homes. People need help with heating and insulation- which can help carbon emissions.

With a huge hike to energy bills combined with an increase to National Insurance this April, a one-off payment to those on the lowest incomes is needed. Ideally this would be a grant to help people on benefits — including Universal Credit and Pension Credit.

We’re also calling for the government to increase benefits urgently by the rate of inflation — rather than last September’s inflation rate. This will help families keep up with their rising costs.

Looking ahead, we’d urge the government to prepare for next winter by expanding and increasing the generosity of the Warm Home Discount — the government should fund this so it doesn’t land with people already seeing higher energy bills.

Citizens Advice have helped a total of 3,946 clients over the past year. We are here to support those that are affected by the living crisis. We provide free, confidential and impartial advice. If you are affected by the above, please contact us online, face to face or by phone which is free of charge.

Call us on: 0808 223 1133.

Or fill in an online form and we will get back to you as soon as we can.