Age UK responds to Derek Thomas MP's call to tackle fuel poverty

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, commented: “Today’s parliamentary debate on fuel poverty is timely. As Derek Thomas MP rightly observes, this is a national problem which calls for a national solution.  The prevalence of leaky homes in the UK not only leads to people paying over the odds for their energy, it also increases and exacerbates serious cold-related illnesses such as heart attacks and strokes – which Age UK estimates cost the NHS approximately £1.36 billion a year through increased GP visits, AE stays and additional social care support.

“Through our Campaign for Warm Homes, we are calling on the Government to make energy efficiency a national infrastructure priority and to put in place a comprehensive programme to lift six million homes occupied by households on low incomes up to EPC Band C by 2025, with two million of them reaching Band C by 2020. Now is the time to reform ECO to ensure that it reaches far more people in need, and to replace the defunct Green Deal with a new, improved scheme which will support those who can afford to pay to invest in energy efficiency at home. These steps are essential if we are to tackle the scourge of fuel poverty once and for all and reduce cold-related illness and deaths among older people.”