13 March 2008
Proposals announced by Alistair Darling in this week's Budget were "a step in the right direction", but more needs to be done to bring long-term solutions to eliminate fuel poverty, uSwitch.com has said.
Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at the independent comparison website, said that there were some positive measures included in the announcement.
Increasing the Winter Fuel Allowance was one suggestion welcomed by Ms Robinson; however, she explained that the rise in benefits "should be targeted at the elderly in real need only" to be truly beneficial.
Meanwhile, commenting on the proposal to increase money spent on social tariffs, she said that the plan requires the government to work with energy providers to set a standard, with clear criteria over who should qualify and a way of verifying that the lowest prices are being delivered.
"This would remove the guess work and provide vulnerable households with a real way out of fuel poverty," Ms Robinson added.
Recently, uSwitch.com revealed that fewer than 400,000 consumers are benefiting from energy suppliers' social tariffs.
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