Age UK launches their Campaign for Warm Homes
25/11/2015
Charity Age UK has discovered evidence that one person (generally elderly) will die every seven minutes from cold related diseases this winter.
The charity has now called on the government to take “urgent action” to protect older people from the potentially deadly consequences of living in cold households with their Campaign for Warm Homes.
Over the last 60 years there have been 2.5 million avoidable deaths among older people in England and Wales because of poorly insulated homes. The problems of cold housing does not just affect pensioners as those suffering from disabilities, poor households and single parent families also at risk.
Current government schemes to help people warm their homes are not proving to be successful. The governments green deal efficiency programme was scrapped in July due to poor take-up and alleged scams surrounding the scheme. The majority of help at the moment comes from the energy companies obligation (ECO). This requires the big energy firms to offer free cavity wall or loft insulation to those on pension credit or who claim various benefits. Local authorities also offer grants to local residents to help them pay for energy efficient measures.
Mark Todd, director of website Energyhelpline, said:
“The help on offer has reduced over the past few years with government cuts to not only energy efficiency schemes, but also to social care with fewer visits to people in their homes, and to benefits. The government has been leaving everyone to fend for themselves, energy prices are still too high, and the funding for these schemes too low.” Abrahams adds: “There is an urgent need for a workable replacement for the green deal and reform of ECOs.”
Need financial advice?
If you have any personal finance questions related to this news article, then please contact our financial advisers. You can get in touch by asking a question online, calling us on 0800 092 1245, or by arranging a visit.
Share this..
Related stories
80% of pension transfer requests fraudulent
13/07/2015 Research from Aegon, the retirement specialist, shows that 80% of all requests for overseas pension transfers it receives are scams, designed to defraud savers out of their pensions. Throughout 2015 so far, Aegon has prevented around 80% of transfers to Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QOPS), which customers had unwittingly authorised, as they were discovered to be...
Read MorePeers to vote on pensions 'lifeboat'
A key vote on whether the government should compensate thousands of people whose pension schemes collapsed will be held in the House of Lords tonight.More than 125,000 people lost millions of pounds worth of retirement savings when their companies went bust between 1997 and 2005.The government intends to compensate affected people with 80 per cent of their expected basic pensions under the Financi...
Read MoreScottish Widows to be named in £1bn pension advice case
Insurance giant Scottish Widows could be facing legal action over claims it misadvised pension schemes. In a dossier compiled by the Actuarial Review Company (Arc), which has been sent to the Financial Services Authority, it is alleged that as a result of the company's advice 100 pension schemes lost £300 million. The advice alleged to have been given by the insurer was to switch from guaranteed...
Read MoreBankruptcy among pensioners sharply rises
01/09/2014 Pensioners in Britain are now more likely to go bankrupt than they were at the height of the recession, even though overall bankruptcy figures have gone down. Due to rising costs and low incomes, accountancy firm Moore Stephens have found that 5,672 pensioners went bankrupt in 2013, up from 4,727 at the height of the recession. There has been a 25% fall in the overall number o...
Read More1 in 7 retiring in 2013 will rely on State Pension
A study from Prudential has further highlighted the bleak outlook for pensioners looking to retire this year, as it was revealed one in seven will have to rely on the state pension for income. The state pension currently stands £110.15 per week, meaning those relying solely on this are going to face a very tough retirement. The study also revealed that one in five retirees is going to slip...
Read More