Fuel for thought...

A beautiful day today, sun is shining down on Liverpool, and set to last all week, a true Indian summer period for us all. Newspapers always get very excited about unseasonably good weather – with their usual fare of ‘Britain hotter than....(insert Tenerife, or Athens, or Dubai wherever is the most exotic place one degree chillier than the UK).

The warm weather means that for many households a brief respite before that ‘big decision’ that arrives at this time of year - “should we or shouldn’t we switch the heating on?” It seems such a simple thing to turn the switch, reacquaint yourself with the thermostat control and fire up the boiler for the first time in months. So, why do we put it off, because we know, that’s why, we know that once the psychological barrier is broken, once we begin to use it , it will be on again, then again, all the way through autumn and winter.

I’ll admit that last week we succumbed, we wimped out, feel a bit guilty for not remaining resolute for longer, ‘layering up’ with jumpers for a few more weeks, taking a more stoic line. It was only for an hour after all, just to take the chill off, however the seeds are sown, once this week is out and we return to more typical autumnal weather I know that the first signs of cold and it’s going on again.

A good reason for withholding the day is the increasing cost of just heating your home. Very few people can have escaped the constant headlines as, one-by-one, the utility companies announce rises in the price of gas and electricity. This is putting real pressure on people in an already difficult time. Unfortunately for so many people living in our communities the basic need to heat a home continues to be a real issue.


A household is said to be in fuel poverty if it needs to spend more than 10% of its income on fuel to maintain a satisfactory heating regime. The statistics for people living in fuel poverty are staggering, in 2009, the number of fuel poor households in the UK was estimated at around 5.5 million. At Local Solutions we are trying to do our bit to alleviate this problem through a new Fuel Debt advice service which has been funded through the British Gas Energy Trust. The service provides free information and support to people who may be suffering from fuel debt and hardship, or struggling to pay their fuel bills. Our qualified team is at hand to support individuals and families with:

 · Dealing with fuel debt

 · Applications for grants

 · Bill queries

 · Understanding and managing your bill

 · Switching suppliers

We also work with groups and organisations that support people who are at risk of or are in fuel debt. We can offer advice to front line workers on the following subjects:

 · Understanding fuel poverty

 · How to recognise fuel poverty

 · How to deal with fuel poverty

 · Energy efficiency measures

 · How to refer people to our service

If you wish to find out more or to make an appointment then contact the team – Julie and Laura on 0151 705 2382 or email fueldebt@localsolutions.org.uk