Leaders of 34 UK housing associations call on Government to provide targeted support for low-income households to avoid energy hardship this winter

Salix Homes has joined forces with more than 30 UK housing associations to call for more targeted Government support to help hundreds of thousands of low-income households who are expected to struggle to heat their homes again this winter.

Energy bills are set to remain high despite a cut in prices from July, experts have warned.

A typical household will pay £2,074 a year for gas and electricity from July, just £426 a year less than currently, after the regulator cut the energy price cap for England, Scotland and Wales.

With the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme (EBSS) discount now scrapped, many customers will end up paying roughly the same.

Alongside Salix Homes, the letter has been signed by the Chief Executives of housing associations from across the UK, including members of Greater Manchester Housing Providers, Homes for the North, Liverpool City Region Housing Associations and the G15 housing association group.

Collectively, the housing associations which have signed the letter provide homes for more than 1.5m households.

Research by Citizens Advice found that 3.2m people were left without heat and light after running out of credit on their prepayment meter last year because they couldn’t afford to top it up.

In 2022 Citizens Advice spoke to 27,521 people who could not afford to top up their prepayment meter – more people than they have spoken to in the whole of the last 10 years combined.

Now 34 housing associations have united to write a joint letter to Government Ministers calling for further support to help stop a repeat of the hardship felt by low-income households last winter.

The letter has been sent to Amanda Solloway MP, Minister for Energy Consumers and Affordability and Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

The letter has urged the Government to make three changes to protect those most in need this winter:

1. Provide more targeted support through the Energy Bills Support Scheme and Energy Bills Discount Scheme for winter 2023-2024 for those on low incomes and the 1.7m households living in fuel poverty and are not registered for benefits.
2. Expand eligibility for the Warm Homes Discount to include households on heat networks and without a direct relationship with an electricity supplier this winter.
3. Extend the application deadline for Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding from 31 May until 31 December 2023.

Sue Sutton, Chief Executive at Salix Homes, said: “At Salix Homes, we stand united with fellow housing associations across the UK in calling for further support for low income and vulnerable households during the upcoming winter months.

“We’ve already seen the devastating impact the cost of living crisis has been having on many of our customers and as the temperature drops, the stark reality is that some people will have to make difficult decisions between heating and eating this winter.

“We already have a number of support measures in place for our own tenants, but it’s essential that we all work together to support people in our communities who are struggling, and the additional support we are calling for will make a real difference for people living in poverty.”

Read the full letter here.