At RH Academy of Training, we are committed to making a sustainable and efficient workforce for the future of the plumbing and utility industry. Every day we speak to workers in the industry who often work face-to-face with the fuel-poor. RH Academy of Training wants to see a future where clean water & heating is affordable, and available to all. Distributed by a workforce trained by us , we want the utility sector to be entirely sustainable and working to the highest standards of public health and safety…
On the 30th January 2018 The Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA) launched a report, which reveals the scale of fuel poverty in the UK.
Statistics revealed that, every year, homes that can’t afford to be heated kill over four times as many people as road and rail accidents. Each winter, there are around 28,500 winter deaths, and a vast majority of these are attributed to people living in fuel poverty and unable to afford to heat their home. It’s estimated that an older person dies every seven minutes during the winter months due to the inability to heat their homes sufficiently.
The research also sheds light on how insufficient policy is not only failing to help those living in fuel poverty, but in some cases actually worsening it.
The EUA’s report, Fuel Poverty: Ending the vicious cycle of vulnerability, offers a unique perspective on the issue. Whilst the report recognises the causes of those who may be fuel-poor i.e. Ineffective heating systems, a wealth divide, homes who have yet to “go digital”, it also offers practical solutions to end fuel poverty
Mike Foster, Chief Executive of the Energy and Utilities Alliance, said: “It is clear that, despite policies being introduced and mechanisms put in place, fuel poverty remains a devastating reality for around four million households living in the United Kingdom who find themselves struggling to heat their homes.
“We have heard shocking anecdotes of people self-disconnecting, facing the ‘heat or eat dilemma’ or experiencing mental health problems or severe isolation as a result of their fuel-poor status from organisations working on the ground.”
He added: “Fuel poverty is a complex issue, and our report suggests a range of proposals that can combat it. There needs to be an urgency amongst policy makers; this really is a life or death scenario.”
