BUDGET MUST BRING REAL CHANGE FOR OLDER PEOPLE

Budget commitments to tackle fuel poverty among older people should be welcomed but the onus is now on energy companies to provide real terms improvements, warns Anchor Trust Chief Executive Dr John Belcher.

In his first Budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling announced a new voluntary agreement which would see the fuel industry give high users of energy - including older people who need to keep warm - a better deal, with suppliers spending £150 million on social tariffs in the coming year.

The Winter Fuel Payments will also rise to £400 a year for people over the age of 80.

Dr Belcher warns that these changes must not be left to energy companies to implement voluntarily but need prompt statutory backing if they are to have a real impact.

He said:

“I now call on the Chancellor to give statutory weight to the increase in social tariffs for those in greatest need, before fuel costs for older people begin to rise exponentially.

“Tariffs, the Winter Fuel Payments and other mechanisms to reduce fuel poverty must keep pace with rising fuel costs, which are likely to increase still further over the coming year.

“Many older people who live in their own homes are terrified at the prospect of fuel bills rising still further, and with food and water costs also increasing, often have to make the decision whether to heat their home or eat a good square meal.

“Older people should not be forced to make such a difficult decision about their own welfare.”

Dr Belcher also called on more local authorities to make good use of increased funding to the Government’s Home Front initiative, which helps the most vulnerable households - including older people - improve the energy efficiency of their homes and cut their fuel bills.

The Government has pledged to increase funding for Warm Front by £800 million from now until 2011, but Anchor wants the grant to be more accessible to older people, and for Warm Zones and similar affordable warmth strategies to be established in every local authority area across England, to empower older people to improve their energy efficiency.

Anchor’s own home improvement agency business, Anchor Staying Put, is able to help older people access Warm Front funding and to work with Warm Zones to offer services such as gas appliance servicing.

“Anchor Staying Put already does fantastic work in many local authority areas, but we would like to be able to do more, and would encourage councils to be more proactive to access Warm Front grants and set up local Warm Zones.”

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