Poverty Upcoming meeting of the Wales Anti-Poverty Coalition
EventsJanuary 8th, 2025
NewsOctober 21st, 2012
Many parts of Wales face more severe fuel poverty than parts of London, according the data analysed by the Western Mail and published on 21st October 2012. Commenting on the findings, Bevan Foundation Director said “What the data shows is that many people in Wales, and especially in areas that are mostly already severely disadvantaged, are going to face spending a disproportionate amount of an already low income keeping warm. Some will simply not be able to afford to buy credit for their electricity meter and face being cut off. Living in a cold home is not only very unpleasant, it’s really bad for people’s health – especially for older people and children.”
She continued “The work being done by many social landlords to improve their housing stock is very welcome, but there are still real problems with other types of homes.
“Privately-rented housing is especially difficult if landlords cannot be persuaded to invest in improvements and even in owner-occupied housing, some people simply cannot afford to spend on expensive things like cavity wall insulation or double glazing.
“The existing energy efficiency programmes are piece-meal – a joint government – private sector initiative to insulate all homes in Wales, for a nominal charge, would not only mean people could keep warm but would create much-needed jobs as well.”
She also called for the end of the premium imposed on pre-payment customers, saying it was a disgrace lower income households were being penalised for trying to manage their money.
