Age Uk warns soaring energy costs will push an estimated 150,000 extra older households into fuel poverty this winter, as it launches new ‘The Cost of Cold’ campaign.
To safeguard the most vulnerable this winter and beyond, Age UK is campaigning for the Government to:
- Provide a one-off £50 payment to all those eligible for Cold Weather Payments and expedite existing payments so they arrive no later than seven days after a period of cold weather.
- Double the Household Support Fund to £1billion to help safeguard all those on low incomes this winter.
- Take urgent action to get Pension Credit – a vital benefit and passport to a package of extra financial support – into the pockets of all those who are eligible.
- Ensure the energy price cap is enshrined in law in the shorter term, and then move to re-introduce a social tariff into the energy market to offer protection against high energy costs in the medium term.
