STATEMENT: Groundwork response to energy bills support

In response to the latest announcements on support for households with the rising cost of energy, Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive, said:

“The government has finally listened to calls to do more to help households with energy bills this winter. With over half of people saying the cost-of-living crisis is already affecting their health, the need to act has become impossible to ignore.

“The measures announced today are welcome but more support will be needed and we need a long-term plan. Even before recent price rises many people were being forced into impossible decisions. Our energy advisors recently helped a resident of a flat heated by electric heaters who had fallen behind with his payments and had been cut off from electricity for 8 years. We support many families relying on foodbanks who have to choose daily between keeping warm and well or eating. Situations like this are playing out in homes across the UK, robbing people of dignity and control over their lives.

“As well as this immediate financial support we need to give people independent advice and take urgent action to insulate homes, which will reduce energy demand, help people stay warm and well, and support a just transition to a greener, fairer society.”

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