Fifth of families can't heat homes

Around 19% of people with children under 17 admitted they were unable to keep their homes warm because of the cost of gas and electricity, according to Save the Children UK.

The group found that a further 15% of households had been forced to cut back on food, while the same proportion spent less on essential clothing in order to be able to pay their fuel bills.

The problem was twice as acute among the UK's poorest families, with 44% of households living off less than £15,000 a year saying they could not afford to heat their homes.

The charity said one of the reasons low-income families were hit hardest was because they often relied on pre-pay meters to heat their homes, which are significantly more expensive than paying for fuel bills by direct debit.

It found that paying for gas and electricity in this way was on average 26% more expensive than paying by direct debit, leaving the country's poorest families paying an extra £215 a year on average.

It said British Gas had the biggest price difference, charging 58% more for electricity to pre-pay customers and 47% more for gas than those who paid by direct debit.

Save the Children is calling on energy companies to bring their pre-pay charges down so that people using the meters are charged the same as those who pay by direct debit.

Phillipa Hunt, UK poverty spokeswoman at Save the Children, said: "Fuel poverty is an outrage, particularly for children. It means that they are experiencing the effects of cold on a daily basis. Children find it more difficult to do their homework in a cold home, and are more likely to suffer ill-health.

She called on the Government to use the Energy Bill to enforce minimum standards of social tariffs, so that people on low incomes pay as little as possible for their energy.