A Heating Crisis In The UK?

A campaign group whose primary concern is warmer homes and more affordable heating bills, has claimed that Britain’s homes are in the middle of a ‘heating crisis’. The group, called the Energy Bill Revolution, backed by such signatories as Age UK, Barnardo’s and Friends of the Earth, have been actively lobbying MPs and generally bringing attention to the fight to eradicate fuel poverty. The Alliance have recently claimed that across Europe, only Estonia has more people struggling to pay their heating bills than the UK. It also has stated that British homes are lagging behind Germany, Holland and Sweden (countries considered directly comparable to the UK) in terms of quality insulation. The Energy Bill Revolution feel that politicians should be making concrete plans for a subsidised national insulation initiative, rather than concentrating on shallow, vote-seeking, slogans and soundbites. According to their statistics, currently 1 in 5 households re in fuel poverty, with that set to rise to 1 in 3 by 2016. Fuel poverty is defined by a household spending over 10% of their total income on heating bills. Old people are said to be the age group most at risk of having health problems caused by the cold. Heart conditions, asthma and of respiratory problems can all be exacerbated by cold weather and people at risk are advised to follow the below tips this winter:

• If you qualify then get a flu jab
• Regularly eat hot meals and drink hot drinks
• Get up and move about regularly
• Keep an eye on the weather forecast and plan ahead with food supplies
• Don't wear slippers outside - put on footwear with good grip
• Wear several thin layers, rather than one thick layer
• Get you central heating system checked to make sure it's working efficiently.
• Keep an eye on older or less able-bodied neighbours

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