Elderly want more fuel poverty help

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The ICM survey, for Help the Aged and Friends of the Earth, comes on the eve of a court case in which the two organisations will accuse the Government of failing to meet its self-imposed legal duty to tackle fuel poverty.

The High Court in London will hear their request for judicial review of ministers' compliance with the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 and the Fuel Poverty Strategy, which require the Government to end fuel poverty for vulnerable households by 2010, and for everyone by 2016.

Consumer watchdog Energywatch has estimated that this winter some five million UK households will be in fuel poverty - defined as spending 10% or more of their income on fuel. This compares with the most recent official figures, which put the number of households in fuel poverty in 2006 at 3.5 million.

Friends of the Earth's executive director Andy Atkins said: "The Government is letting people down by failing on its legal commitment to end the suffering of fuel poverty.

"At the moment, most homes in the UK are simply leaking heat - to solve fuel poverty in the long term, a massive energy efficiency programme is needed. This will keep people warm, cut bills and help meet our targets for tackling climate change."

Mervyn Kohler, special adviser for Help the Aged, said: "It's not surprising that older people have little faith in the Government's mediocre attempts to tackle fuel poverty. Though fuel poverty is high on the media and political agendas, Government actions to reduce it fall far short of the crisis it is creating for millions of pensioners and low-income families.

"It is vital that the Government comes up with an effective strategy for tackling fuel poverty. Low income households need crisis payments simply to get through the coming winter, but in the longer term, the energy efficiency of our homes must be improved. The Government has a legal duty to do this."