7 December 2007
Low-income and vulnerable households are set to benefit from £2.3 billion of new measures to support fuel poverty and home energy efficiency.
Government intervention now means that energy suppliers will be obliged by law to spend £1.5 billion over the next three years to install energy efficiency measures in the homes of people on low incomes, elderly people as well as those with disabilities.
The Government has also pledged £800 million over three years for the Warm Front scheme which aims to help around 400,000 of the UK's poorest households.
"Millions of homes have been lifted out of fuel poverty over the past ten years but as fuel bills have increased it's more important than ever that people facing difficulty paying their bills access the full range of help that's out there," Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks explained.
"Talk to your energy supplier and Warm Front for help making your home more energy efficient," he added.
"Investigate whether your supplier can put you onto a social tariff, or whether you should switch supplier altogether to get a better deal. There are still big saving to be had. And check that you are getting all the benefits that you're entitled to."
The comments come as recent figures published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform today show that 1.5 million households in England were in fuel poverty in 2005.