NEWS RELEASE | 28.07.08

The National Home Improvement Council (NHIC) says millions of UK householders, especially the elderly and those on fixed incomes, are going to find it very difficult to pay the vastly inflated fuel prices in order to keep warm this winter. 
 
NHIC Executive Director, Roman Russocki, says: “With increased prices now affecting virtually every walk of life, millions of UK householders are absolutely dreading the cost of keeping warm this winter. In particular, people on low wages, fixed incomes, benefits and the elderly, face a very miserable existence, as they can’t afford to pay.  So they will not turn on their heating and, consequently, will end up cold, unhealthy and thousands will die!
 
“We urge the Government to follow its Fuel Poverty Advisory Group’s recommendations to increase the ‘Warm Front’ allocation by at least £1.3bn and to put in place urgent measures to raise the awareness of poorer households to the fact that grants are available to help them insulate their homes.
 
“Local authorities, too, should take a lead in bringing to people’s notice the availability of grants through the columns of local newspapers.
 
Roman Russocki says: “If next winter is as cold as the long term weather forecasters predict it may be, this will cause considerable pain and suffering to the vulnerable and place an extra strain on an already overworked National Health Service. The NHIC understands that in the likely event of a bad winter deaths in the UK from hypothermia could reach 50,000!
 
“Also the numbers of households plunged into fuel poverty will rise from 4million to around 6million, completely reversing the Government’s endeavours to bring about significant reductions in this respect by 2010.”
 
Each autumn the National Home Improvement Council issues advice to householders in the form of press releases to UK regional and local press. This year its message will set out clearly and concisely exactly what every household should be doing to ease the impact of higher fuel bills and to reduce carbon footprints.

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