Government’s fuel poverty measures ‘disappointing’

The government’s announcements on tackling fuel poverty have been described as “disappointing” and “approaching negligence” by a watchdog.

Energywatch chief executive Allan Asher has spoken out on the proposals, damning ministers for not doing enough to combat the issue.

“While government has now woken up to the scale of the challenge and is becoming alert to the need for some action; the sense of urgency is lacking,” he commented.

He added that leaders have done little to help those who cannot afford to keep warm this winter.

While describing measures that could be taken, Mr Asher called on the government to deal with the “obscenity” of prepayment meters being 60 per cent more expensive than online tariffs.

However, he welcomed the increase in the budget for the Warm Front initiative.

Meanwhile, energy firm E.On have been forced to apologise after a director joked that higher fuel prices meant “more money for us” at a seminar – a remark that angered many poverty and debt campaigners.

By Jamie Price