Labour is under fresh pressure after it was claimed 1.7million households are preparing to go without heating altogether this winter.
Research by the price comparison website Uswitch suggests the number left to endure freezing homes could be nearly double last winter. Worryingly for the Labour government, a quarter of pensioners saying they won’t turn on their heating put it down to the loss of winter fuel payments.
The findings from a survey of 2,000 people came as most households are braced for a jump in energy bills from October 1. Regulator Ofgem’s energy price cap is set to rise by 10%, taking a typical household’s annual gas and electricity bill to £1,717. Experts predict the cap could go up again in January.
Next month’s average £149 a year jump will kick in just days before many people are expected to turn their heating on for the first time. The Uswitch poll found the average household will do so on October 6 this year.
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Yet its findings suggest many won’t do so either then, or at any time over the winter. The estimated 1.7million going without would be sharply up on the believed 972,000 households last winter.
More than half of households (55%) who say they can’t afford to warm their home blame it on rising living costs. A further one million people are determined to put off switching on their heating until December to help keep costs down.
The 25% of pensioners singling out the loss of the winter fuel payment will add pressure on the government, after it scrapped the allowance for millions of older people in a bid to balance the nation’s books. Labour has been widely criticised for restricting the payment, worth up to £300, to only those receiving pension credit. Campaigners and charities say it will worsen the plight of those battling to ends meet, with calls on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to unveil targeted support in next month’s Budget.
Will Owen, energy expert at Uswitch.com, said: “It’s deeply concerning to see how many households plan to get through winter without heating due to financial struggles. Spending winter in a cold home can be a health risk and households should keep the temperature at safe levels.
“People are advised to set their thermostats to between 18°C and 21°C, so households should try to keep within this range even when trying to save money. Electric blankets are a good way to keep warm, and cost a lot less to run than electric heaters.”
Peter Smith, director of policy and advocacy at the charity National Energy Action, said: “With less support available and an increase in energy bills in just over two weeks, it’s no surprise that people are worried about heating their homes. There is still time for the UK government to offset the impact of high prices by directly reducing bills and soaring levels of debt for the most vulnerable.”
National Energy Action’s figures show that from October 1 around six million UK households will be in fuel poverty.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “This new research confirms what we are hearing from older people: many on low and modest incomes are planning to ration their heating this winter because they are frightened they can’t afford not to, a situation made much worse by the Government’s decision to means-test winter fuel payment, at the same time as average energy bills are rising by 10%.
“For an older person to be forced to live in a cold home is deeply worrying because it’s very bad for their health, especially if they are living with lung or heart conditions, or are very frail. “The consequences for them could be severe and its certain that we’ll see more older people coming into hospital this winter as a result – the last thing they or the NHS needs.”
Recent polling by YouGov for the group Christians Against Poverty found 48% of UK adults have been limiting their electricity or gas use in the house at least once a month because of the cost.
More than one in six of those polled for Uswitch said they were planning to set their thermostats below the recommended levels to save money, with nearly one in 10 planning to heat their home to 17°C, and 11% at 16°C or lower. At the other end of the scale, nearly four million households say they aim to set their thermostats at or above 22°C — hotter than it is currently in Rome. Due to last week’s cold snap, six million people report already turning on their heating.