Tackling fuel poverty puts immense strain on charity staff

Adam John

Published 24 October 2023

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Tackling fuel poverty puts immense strain on charity staff

National Energy Action has been at the forefront of highlighting the very real impacts of the cost of living crisis on consumers. However, as chief executive Adam Scorer explains, the charity also has to be mindful of the immense emotional strain being placed on those at the frontline of helping customers who are at their wits’ end.

“I never would have thought a few years ago that suicidal behaviour training for clients was going to be such a big part of our lives.”

Adam Scorer, chief executive of fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA), knows all too well the impact the past few years have had, not just on vulnerable energy customers (or clients, as he refers to them), but on NEA’s staff too.

“This isn’t a cold arithmetical calculation between income and expenditure, budget and bills. The truth of it is you’ve got people who can’t see a way forward and are desperate, are living often miserable, desperate lives. And the conversations are emotional, they’re charged and they can be incredibly distressing. The fact that suicide awareness training is part and parcel of how you manage and train your workforce is just a desperate statement of the severity of the issues that we face,” he tells Utility Week.

I am meeting Scorer in the bustling café of the Leonardo Hotel in Liverpool as the Labour Party conference is in full swing.

It’s rather fitting that we are discussing matters of fuel poverty in Liverpool. According to NEA’s data, each of the city’s four parliamentary constituencies have higher levels of fuel poverty than both the North West and national averages. The worst, Liverpool Wavertree, has 22% of households living in fuel poverty – significantly higher than the North West (14.4%) and national average (13.14%).

“What should happen at these sorts of events, and it does in the fringe meetings, is what the policy wonks would call intersectionality. So you see the connection of different issues, different manifestations of poverty, and how policy instruments might be able to find connected responses to them,” he says.

In Scorer’s view, energy has “supercharged” a cost of living crisis which the NEA anticipates to be worse this winter than last for the people in the greatest need. He warns against finding a “silver bullet” such as maximising income through the benefit system or just focusing on installing energy efficiency measures, which he adds are not being installed fast enough.

“That should make us realise that a proper plan for eradicating fuel poverty is one that’s going to have to understand how all those things come together in a holistic, coherent system. The risk is you get overly focused on a silver bullet, whether it be benefit levels, a social tariff, energy efficiency – all the things I massively support. You need a combination of those things working in harness to give you a proper, coherent response to the challenge.”

Wishlist for government

The NEA boss, who backed Utility Week’s Action on Bills campaign, has a long and by his own admission, much repeated, wishlist of actions he wants for the government, to help those most in need during what is set to be an even tougher winter for the poorest.

Among these are an injection of financial help, as well as coming up with an enduring support mechanism. This means the government must “crack on” with a consultation on a social tariff which is aimed at those on means tested benefits as well as those with medical conditions and people with disabilities. Further measures must be brought in to help those in debt, as well as amending the standing charge to ensure low income, high usage households are protected.

Yet there is no hiding his obvious frustration with government over the fact there is still no sign ministers will introduce the much-needed targeted support for the fuel poor this winter. In its 2022 Autumn Statement the government committed to consult on future approaches to consumer protections including a social tariff, but has so far not been forthcoming with the proposals.

“It is disappointing – it is beyond disappointing – to have heard over the past couple of weeks that minimum energy efficiency standards for private landlords have been scrapped, that the opportunities from the energy efficiency taskforce were scrapped, that there is no commitment now to consult on a social tariff. There’s radio silence on urgent short term financial support this winter,” he laments.

“Sometimes I’m mystified why we’re not having productive dialogues and sometimes I’m just incensed. That only ends one way – with more of our clients going without support, with more people disconnecting from their energy supply and with more people being in impossible levels of household energy debt. It leads to energy advice organisations not having the wherewithal to help people move forward. It’s unconscionable, but it’s the case.”

For its part the government points to the fact it spent £40 billion paying around half a typical household’s energy bill last winter, and that its Energy Price Guarantee remains in place until April next year.

Meanwhile 3 million households are eligible for the £150 Warm Home Discount, with those on means-tested benefits entitled to £900, and disabled people an extra £150.

“We continue to keep all options under review for those most in need,” a government spokesperson told Utility Week.

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