poverty

“Six million UK households still in fuel poverty despite energy bill drop”

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https://www.energylivenews.com/2024/02/23/six-million-uk-households-still-in-fuel-poverty-despite-energy-bill-drop/

Dimitris Mavrokefalidis

Ofgem’s announcement of a 12% drop in energy bills for April to June is welcomed, but National Energy Action warns that six million UK households will still face fuel poverty

Today, Ofgem revealed the energy price cap for April to June, showing a 12% drop in typical annual energy bills to £1,690.

Despite this reduction, National Energy Action (NEA) cautions that 6 million UK households will continue to grapple with fuel poverty.

This figure marks a significant increase from the 4.5 million households affected at the onset of the energy crisis in October 2021.

The persistent challenge of fuel poverty is exacerbated by the fact that current energy bills remain 49% higher than pre-crisis levels.

Adam Scorer, Chief Executive of NEA, said: “This is, of course, good news – any fall in energy bills is welcome. However, the drop coming in April still leaves bills significantly higher than they were before the energy crisis began.

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https://www.energylivenews.com/2024/02/23/six-million-uk-households-still-in-fuel-poverty-despite-energy-bill-drop/

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Schools crippled by soaring PFI bills

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/schools-crippled-soaring-pfi-bills

School children in a classroom, November 27, 2019

UNIONS and campaigners slammed private firms today for imposing crippling maintenance bills on schools locked into Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts.

PFI schools are bound by 25 to 30-year contracts with private firms, who own and maintain the schools until taxpayers’ money repays the debt.

Over 900 schools have been built through PFI contracts since the 1990s. The initiative was eventually scrapped in 2018.

The BBC spoke to one head teacher in Liverpool who said that nearly 20 per cent of the school’s entire budget is being squandered on contracts.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/schools-crippled-soaring-pfi-bills

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Morning Star: Ever-increasing militarisation leaves us all poorer

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/editorial-ever-increasing-militarisation-leaves-us-all-poorer

IF THERE was one thing that British listeners should have picked up from Vladimir Putin’s interview last week, it was the intervention by Britain’s then prime minister Boris Johnson over Easter 2022.

Putin confirmed that, just prior to Johnson’s visit, a signed agreement had been reached ratified by the representatives of both Ukraine and Russia and counter-signed by France and Germany.

Johnson’s intervention caused Volodymyr Zelensky to back out of the agreement. Whether Johnson acted alone or on behalf of the US government, or elements within it, we do not know. But it is unlikely that Johnson would have acted without some sort of US sanction.

What we do know are the human consequences. According to the UN, just over a thousand civilians had lost their lives by April 2022. Since then 10 times that number have been killed and the same ratio is likely for the much higher level of military casualties.

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Jeremy Hunt’s May 2023 Budget found an extra £11bn for defence. For the forthcoming Budget still more money was being proposed over the weekend “to strengthen Britain’s defences in the Red Sea.” Britain remains the second biggest contributor to Nato after the US.

Yet Britain is a country that can no longer afford the basic infrastructure needed for clean water, rail transport or a national grid capable of connecting existing renewable capacity — let alone a viable health service and effective schooling.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/editorial-ever-increasing-militarisation-leaves-us-all-poorer

dizzy: I disagree with the contention: ” … it is unlikely that Johnson would have acted without some sort of US sanction.” It preseupposes that Johnson was measured in his behaviour when he was often poorly-briefed and out of control. [17/2/24 e.g. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/06/boris-johnson-mistake-could-harm-case-for-nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-say-family ]

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Three million households doomed to fuel poverty

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/three-million-households-doomed-to-be-trapped-in-fuel-poverty-by-2030

A gas fuelled fire in a home

THREE million households are doomed to remain trapped in fuel poverty by 2030 as the government is set to fail to meet its energy efficiency targets, according to new research.

The report surfaced as the Office of National Statistics (ONS) issued new data today that found that some four in 10 adults reported finding it “very” or “somewhat” difficult to afford their energy bills, while 14 per cent of those finding it hard to keep warm in their home also experienced difficulties affording food.

The National Energy Action and Energy Action Scotland report has found that the poorest households could be left paying £480 more a year to meet their energy needs while remaining in cold, damp and unhealthy homes.

It found that the government is projected to miss its target to upgrade the energy efficiency of homes to at least a band C “by a staggering margin.”

An independent analysis by Gemserv found there is a funding shortfall of at least £18 billion for the measures needed to meet the legal requirement to ensure fuel-poor homes in England are brought up to standard by 2030.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/three-million-households-doomed-to-be-trapped-in-fuel-poverty-by-2030

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Green Party claims that poverty is a political choice

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Image of the Green Party's Carla Denyer on BBC Question Time.
Image of the Green Party’s Carla Denyer on BBC Question Time.

Responding to this year’s poverty report from the Joeseph Rowntree Foundation, which says that it is now 20 years and six prime ministers since there was a sustained fall in poverty, co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer, said: 

“This latest report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation makes for grim reading. Over one in five people in the UK were living in poverty in 2021/22. That’s almost 14 and a half million people, with over eight million working-age adults and over four million children.  

“For years, successive UK governments have allowed poverty to become entrenched and for inequality to widen. The super-rich have seen their incomes soar during a time of increased hardship for millions of people.  

“It doesn’t have to be this way. Poverty is a political choice. 

“There are things that can be done quickly to address the sickening levels of poverty in our society. For example, the Green Party would increase Universal Credit by £40 per week and abolish the two-child benefit cap. A wealth tax on the super-rich, along with tax reforms such as changes to Capital Gains Tax and abolishing “non dom status,” could pay for these and other measures to reduce poverty.  

“As Labour finalises its manifesto, there’s little indication that they will make the right political choices to help the millions enduring grinding poverty. Which is why we so desperately need a group of Green MPs in parliament after the next general election to put pressure on Labour to do the right thing.” 

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