Warm Front 'alienating thousands of households'
Published on : 09/12/2008
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Thousands of households in the UK could be unable to benefit from the governments Warm Front scheme as they are deemed too poor, according to the Times.
Statistics seen by the newspaper have shown that 11,020 qualifying households have pulled out of the scheme, as they are unable to be able to afford their share of home heating and insulation upgrade costs.
The newspaper adds that grants provided by Warm Front, established in 2001 to combat fuel poverty in the UK, have remained capped for the last four years despite costs of labour and material all increasing.
Gordon Lishman, director-general of Age Concern, told the publication that the scheme was a failure, adding it was "outrageous" the government was expecting the poorest households to pay extra.
He added: "If the government is serious about helping the poorest households out of fuel poverty, it must urgently raise the Warm Front grant and review the problems with the scheme."
David Hunter, from energy consultants McKinnon & Clarke, recently told the Daily Mail there was room for double-digit drops in energy prices in the coming months.
