Twice bitten by cuts and fuel poverty

Research by Citizens Advice and the Government into fuel poverty among disabled people indicates serious cause for concern, Sunil Peck writes

In July, the Government released figures that revealed an alarming increase in the number of households that contain a disabled person and are fuel poor.

A household is classified as being fuel poor if it spends more than 10 per cent of its income on fuel. In 2003, three per cent of households containing a disabled person were in fuel poverty. In 2009, that had risen to 24 per cent.

As disabled people see benefits cut while energy companies increase prices, the situation looks set to get worse.

The case of Chantal Chaervey illustrates starkly why the Government must take action now.

A single mother, Chantal is the full time carer for her son Harry who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy.

Chantal couldn’t afford to turn on her heating last winter and is “dreading this winter”.

“It had a huge impact on Harry and triggered off a whole gamut of issues. He has virtually no immunity and the cold caused infections and lung disorders. The discomfort meant he couldn’t sleep and had seizures.”

Harry’s illness meant that Chantal had to take him to and from hospital, which she says cost her a lot in petrol.

She’s selling her jewellery and other heirlooms to raise money for a log stove so she can heat one room this year.

Tim Nichols, the Child Poverty Action Group’s spokesman, describes the family’s case as “absolutely shocking”. He says it “represents a complete failure to guarantee basic welfare needs for the most vulnerable families”.

He added: “The Government’s welfare cuts are making the situation worse too. As this example shows, for the most severe cases we are talking about a very serious threat to the health and wellbeing of children, yet the Government still seems to be in denial about the dangers and the urgent intervention needed to make sure families have the funds to pay basic bills.”

At the time of writing, two of the six big energy companies had announced price increases with the others expected to follow.

Valerie Tugwell, an Essex pensioner who receives winter fuel payments, is worried that a further price increase in her electricity bills will leave her with no option but to disconnect her phone line so she can pay for her heating. That would leave her stuck in the event of an emergency because she needs a phone line to contact her local home care service.

“If I went without heating and got cold, I’d be even less mobile than I am now. I have to be hoisted in and out of my wheelchair because I can’t support my own weight. I’d be in a lot of pain and I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I were cold.”

But who should do more to tackle fuel poverty, the Government or the energy companies?

Dan Burden, Head of Public Affairs at the Spinal Injuries Association, says that although both have a duty to act, the Government should take the lead. “While winter fuel pay­ments exist for older people, there’s a case for extending them to people whose disability means they incur higher heating costs. Some energy companies extend lower tariffs to some customers, but the companies can’t be expected to make those allowances on their own, so the Government has a place to negotiate.”

The Government has in fact introduced the Warm Home Discount scheme to help a core group of older people and some 1.7 million more homes with families on low incomes, which could include the estimated 1.5 million households with a disabled person.

Asked if the rise in the number of disabled people in fuel poverty between 2003 and 2009 was alarming and why the Government wasn’t stopping energy providers imposing price rises on disabled customers, a Government spokeswoman said: “[We are] committed to helping everyone heat their homes more affordably, which is why, for the first time, we are requiring energy suppliers to provide discounts off fuel bills for low income, vulnerable households through the Warm Home Discount. The Green Deal will also start next year helping everyone access energy efficiency measures at no upfront costs, whether you own or rent your home, and will be the biggest home improvement programme since the Second World War.”