This archive report was first published on 18 November 2021.
As the weather turns cold, many low-income households in Britain are bracing themselves for a harsh winter, with soaring fuel bills threatening to push them into fuel poverty.
For 70-year-old retired social worker, Thompson, the situation is particularly dire. She lives in a government-subsidised flat in Brixton, where the walls have mould, and the kitchen is the only warm room.
Thompson's monthly pension of £1,200 is barely enough to cover her rent, which accounts for almost half of her income. Her bank account fell into the red this month, with an overdraft of £35.
Her utility bill has more than doubled in the past year, to £250 per month, with half of that going towards electricity and gas. 'I'm shocked at how much my utility bill is,' she said. 'I have to be really, really careful about how I spend and I don't buy clothes or shoes. I've cut down on food and non-essential toiletries.'
UK authorities raised the energy cap in October, but it is set to climb further in April. Campaigners worry that even more households will face fuel poverty, spending more than 10 percent of their total income on fuel.
Low-income families are under extra pressure after the government returned welfare benefit payments to pre-pandemic levels. 'People already couldn't afford to eat and heat their homes,' said Ruth London, an organiser with campaign group Fuel Poverty Action. 'And add to that the massive increases in the cost of fuel and you get a situation which people just don't know how they're going to get through the winter.'
