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Fuel poverty a serious issue for North East

“`Don’t suffer in silence”, is the advice offered by a local expert to people facing the prospect of fuel poverty this winter.

Liz Chadwick, Chief Executive of DAWN advice, believes that numbers of people living in the North East struggling to pay fuel bills could rise rapidly after British Gas and Scottish Power announced price hikes.

She said: “In the early half of this century, increasing incomes and lower energy costs were helping to reduce the number of people affected by fuel poverty, but the recession, coupled with energy price rises, is reversing that trend with frightening speed.

“The problem might seem like it is miles away while it’s warm outside, but autumn and winter will be here before we know it. If the last two winters are anything to go by, it will be cold and heating a family home could prove incredibly expensive.

The latest government figures show that 20 percent of households were spending more than 10 percent of their annual income on keeping warm.

She added: “However, people must not panic about paying bills and should seek professional advice if they are struggling to make ends meet. Heating is a necessity, not a luxury, and nobody should be suffering – or shivering – in silence.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .