Published at 09:19, Friday, 10 October 2008

A national charity is taking the Government to court over claims that it has failed to meet legal obligations to cut fuel poverty.

Suffering: This winter, millions of people will be cutting back on food or fuel or both, putting their health in jeopardy and living in misery, says Help the Aged

Help the Aged, alongside environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth, took legal action after the Government’s Fuel Poverty Advisory Group said it expected to miss its legal target to eliminate fuel poverty for vulnerable households by 2010.

But the Government has insisted that fuel poverty is a high priority and has pledged £1 billion to help struggling householders.

Figures from the Government’s annual fuel poverty progress report show that 3.5 million households in England were estimated to be in fuel poverty in 2006. The figure has almost trebled from 1.2 million in 2004. Estimates from Help the Aged and Friends of the Earth calculate that at least five million households across the UK are now in fuel poverty.

As part of their case, the charities will highlight the Government’s failure to set a minimum standard of energy efficiency to be applied to affected households and the lack of a costed action plan for meeting its targets.

Special adviser for Help the Aged, Mervyn Kohler, said: “Fuel poverty is escalating out of control and the response from Government has been completely feeble.

“According to a progress report, it is now obvious to all that the Government will not meet its legal obligation to eradicate fuel poverty in vulnerable households by 2010. This is a far cry from the progress we need.

“This winter, millions of people will be cutting back on food or fuel or both, putting their health in jeopardy and living in misery.

“What’s needed is a Government strategy that combines both short and long-term solutions: crisis payments to help with the here and now and, in the longer term, improvements to the energy efficiency of our housing stock.”

A Government spokesperson said: “The matter is shortly to be heard in the High Court and we cannot comment further at this stage. In the meantime fuel poverty continues to be a key priority and we are doing all we can to help the most vulnerable keep warm this winter.”

Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk