Campaigners slam government for ‘shirking its duty’ to millions in fuel poverty

CHARITIES are being inundated with desperate pleas for energy bill help, with campaigners today slamming the government for “shirking its duty” to millions in fuel poverty.

Ministers were urged to “start putting people before private profit” as freezing temperatures were set to continue this weekend.

Citizens Advice has revealed a  20 per cent jump in the number of households asking for help with their gas and electric bills last year.

It has risen to 60,000 homes — double the total in 2020.

Problems with billing was the single most common type of issue, with one in four of these involving catch up bills of an average £2,500.

This sparked furious calls for government to clamp down on energy giant profiteering today as the cold weather and axing of the £300 winter fuel payments piles the pressure on millions struggling to keep their homes warm.

Fuel Poverty Action’s spokesman Jonathan Bean said: “Helplines and charities are inundated with desperate people struggling with their bills. They’re picking up the slack for a government that isn’t doing its job.

“The first duty of government is to keep people safe. No-one should have to turn off the heating for fear of going into debt, while energy companies profit at our expense.

“Starmer’s Labour is shirking its duty, axing winter fuel payments for over 2.5 million low-income pensioners and quietly dropping commitments to bring bills down by £300.

“Fuel poverty is a political choice. It’s time for this government to start putting people before private profit.”

He called for an end to “cruel standing charges… and urgent action to fix our broken energy pricing system and guarantee that everyone has enough energy to cover life’s essentials.”

Warm This Winter spokeswoman Caroline Simpson said that the cold snap has meant “ensuring we all have warm homes to live in has never been more vital.”

She said millions in poor housing are struggling to pay bills £700 higher than four year ago, “while energy companies are making billions in profits, in fact just 20 companies have made an eye-watering £483 billion since the start of the crisis.”

The energy price cap set by regulator Ofgem went up by 1.2 per cent on New Year’s Day — increasing the average bills to £1,738 a year — with a further 3 per cent rise forecast for April.

A government spokesperson said: “Every family in the country has paid the price of Britain’s dependence on global fossil fuel markets. That is why we are sprinting to clean, home-grown energy, so the UK can take back control of its energy with cleaner, affordable power.”

Britain recorded its coldest January night in 15 years today as temperatures in Altnaharra, a hamlet in Sutherland, the most northern region of the Highlands, dropped to minus 14.5°C.

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