Multiple leading charities in the UK are urging the government to take action as millions of elderly, disabled people, and those on lower incomes are unable to afford energy costs.
The fuel poverty gap has doubled since 2020, and annual energy bills are on average £700 more than they were just five years ago.
Analysis by Public First on behalf of six charities – Scope, Age UK, Independent Age, Mencap, E.ON UK, Sense and Fair by Design – estimates 3,700,000 households are in fuel poverty, spending more than 10% of their income on costs.
Though the government’s Warm Home Discount will provide £150 this winter for some households, just 33% of fuel-poor households will be eligible for the expanded scheme.
As MPs return to parliament next week, the coalition of charities is urging the government to ensure there is no gap in support from 2026.
They’re also calling for an increase in support to match the average fuel poverty gap of more than £400 a year, with top-up payments for disabled people and standard credit customers who have higher costs.
Abdi Mohamed, Head of Policy, Research and Influencing at disability equality charity Scope, said: ‘The system is broken. As the fuel poverty gap widens, millions of disabled people are being pushed deeper and deeper into fuel poverty.’
‘Life costs more if you are disabled – on average, an extra £1,095 a month. We hear from disabled people every day who tell us they are unable to power vital medical and mobility equipment, facing increasing pain and losing their independence,’ he added.
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Myles Pearson, 32, lives in Lancashire and works full-time for Lancashire County Council. He also has a condition called arthrogryposis, which stiffens his joints and requires him to turn on the heating more than most people during winter.
Last winter, he spent up to £150 a week on heating to stay warm. Myles told Metro: ‘My condition becomes quite painful, which meansI’m having to spend more on heating and energy bills. I also work from home, and because of that, it’s harder to just get on with.’
‘I don’t think energy providers understand what people are facing, or see it daily. Look at people’s lives. Look at how people are living,’ Myles added.
‘Ask yourselves, how can you afford to do that when others can’t?’
Myles believes a system with a social tariff might work to provide discounts on energy bills for those who need it most.
‘It could be given as part of the benefits system, and I think that would be a really good thing because that would take the weight off people.
‘It’s vital that the people in charge and the people making these decisions do look at people’s lives and how it disproportionately affects disabled people.’
Caroline Abrahams CBE, Charity Director at Age UK, explained: ‘Older people should be able to look forward to their later years with comfort and peace of mind, not the constant choices of heating or eating, cold or debt.
‘This cannot be about getting through one winter at a time — we must build a future in which no older person is left cold or struggling to afford the essentials.’
Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive OBE of learning disability charity Mencap, said: ‘People with a learning disability simply must be protected from ever-increasing energy costs, or they face being pushed into fuel poverty, unable to stay safe, warm and healthy.
‘With bill prices set to increase even further this Autumn, people with a learning disability and their families will continue to face these dangerous choices, which leave them feeling anxious and afraid.
‘The Government must tackle these issues once and for all by introducing targeted energy affordability support for those who need it; this report offers pragmatic steps to how this could become a much-needed reality.
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