The Green Party is shocked today at the announcement that applications to the Warm Front scheme have been suspended until April 2011, due to lack of funds.
The government scheme offers grants of between £3500 and £6000 to help low income households in England pay for energy efficiency measures, such as home insulation.
The government announced today that its £345 million budget for this year’s programme had been allocated, and no further applications would be accepted until the new tax year begins next April.
Removing this funding will leave millions of vulnerable households, including 3.5 million elderly people (1), struggling to heat their homes adequately during the extreme cold weather this winter, increasing the risk of serious health problems.
The Green Party believes the temporary withdrawal of funding to be a false economy, as figures from National Energy Action show that fuel poverty costs the National Health Service £1billion each year and leads to over 27,000 deaths annually.
Responding to today’s announcement, Green MP Caroline Lucas said:
“It is absolutely scandalous that the Government is abandoning those who live in fuel poverty. The number of households affected by fuel poverty rose to 4.5 million in 2008, around 1 in 6 of all UK households (2). This is a real slap in the face for people hoping to have their homes properly insulated as the cold winter months kick in.”
Tackling energy efficiency as an environmental and social problem
As Chris Huhne announced today plans to encourage energy companies to invest in low-carbon electricity generation, the price comparison website uSwitch predicted that funding this investment will cost UK households an extra £500 on top of current electricity bills (3).
The policies announced today would see the government shift responsibility for climate change to the private sector, with costs inevitably being passed on to consumers.
Following Green Party policies of subsidising energy conservation and renewable energy programmes by levying an environmental tax on burning fossil fuels, as well as improving energy efficiency standards for new and existing housing, would allow the government to fund investment in renewable energy, while also reducing energy bills and combating fuel poverty.
Contact: Green party press office, 0207 561 0282
Notes:
1. According to Michelle Mitchell, Charity Director of Age UK, as reported by uSwitch at http://www.uswitch.com/news/utilities/warm-front-scheme-put-on-hold-821217/
2. Statistics from DECC Annual Report on Fuel Poverty Statistics 2010 at http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/Statistics/fuelpoverty/610-annual-fuel-poverty-statistics-2010.pdf