A coalition of businesses, unions and charities have come together to urge the Prime Minister to raise attempts at tackling fuel poverty.
Following the closure of the Warm Front scheme and the current cold snap, the Energy Bill Revolution campaign has warned David Cameron that current attempts to tackle fuel poverty are “doomed to fail”.
The Energy Bill Revolution campaign is concerned that the imminent Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) will fail to address the chronic efficiency levels in the UK’s housing stock and the rise of fuel poverty.
The campaign, which boasts support from The Co-op, Confused.com, npower, UNISON, Age UK, Netmums and Barnardos, recommends that the Prime Minister uses funding raised through the Carbon Tax to finance a programme of super-insulation across the country. The group believes that this will provide five times more subsidy for insulation measures across the UK without increasing consumer energy bills at all.
The Energy Bill Revolution predicts that super-insulation could save the average family over £300 a year on their annual energy bill. The campaign believes that its suggested super-insulation programme has the potential to lift 9 out of 10 homes out of fuel poverty by 2023.
Ed Matthew, Director of the Energy Bill Revolution, said: “The suffering caused by high energy bills is turning into a national crisis. Our alliance is united in our belief that the Government can do far more. There is enough carbon revenue to fund an insulation programme which is five times bigger. It could end fuel poverty and ensure all UK homes are super-insulated. Consumers end up paying this tax. It is only right and just that this revenue is used to help them bring down their energy bills.”
Michelle Mitchell, Age UK’s Charity Director General, added: “Cold homes are not only leading to the deaths of thousands of older people each winter, they are costing the NHS in England £1.36 billion a year due to the devastating impact on people’s health. Using the money raised from carbon taxes to overhaul the energy efficiency of the UK’s housing stock would offer a lasting solution to the scourge of fuel poverty.”
The Energy Bill Revolution claims that since the coalition government came to power, funding for energy efficiency measures has been cut by 44%. The coalition hopes that its flagship policy, the Green Deal, will address the UK’s rising number of fuel poor households, calling the scheme “the most ambitious home improvement programme since the second world war.”