Category: Martin Lewis

  • Martin Lewis has effectively become one of the few in the public eye people seem to trust and rely on. But even he can’t hide his frustration sometimes. This boiled over on Tuesday 8 November, as he gave an emotional diatribe on one aspect of the cost of living crisis: warm spaces.

    Lewis: not holding back

    As Lewis angrily said:

    I hate the fact I’m doing this. But I’m doing it anyway. If you are really struggling, and you know someone who is really struggling, we in Britain this winter… [pause] have warm spaces.

    Lewis was talking about warm “hubs” or “banks“. This supposedly new phenomenon is not really new. Ask plenty of poor people and they’ll tell you libraries or charity shops were always a go-to in winter. Warm spaces have a fairly obvious idea behind them. If people cannot afford to heat their homes, they can go to a warm space to stop themselves being cold. As the organisation Warm Spaces wrote on its website:

    Every space can offer something different. Some may offer free food; pay-it-forward schemes, advice, somewhere to charge your phone or maybe just somewhere to be comfortable & warm with no judgement.

    Warm spaces everywhere

    Warm Spaces’ interactive map shows people where spaces are – and there’s already a lot:

    A picture of a map of warm spaces in the uk

    Anyone can use them. And as Lewis explained, it’s important that everyone knows about them, because:

    libraries or local councils are saying everyone is welcome to spend time and stay warm. There’s a website, warmwelcome.uk, where you can find one near you. If you know perhaps elderly relatives or people who live near you who can’t turn their heating on and they’re worried, why not find where your nearest warm space is for them?

    However, Lewis was also right to point out that:

    We shouldn’t be doing [this]. But it’s important people know, and the nice bit is I’m glad there are people out there who care enough to set these things up.

    The reason for the sudden appearance of official warm spaces is the cost of living crisis. However, dangerously cold homes in the UK are hardly new – and they’re an issue of ethnicity and class. This is because it’s often the poorest and Black and brown people who are hardest hit.

    A perfect storm of negligence

    Poor social housing association properties and council houses are major culprits of poor people not being able to afford their heating bills. For example, 4% of social homes have damp – versus 2% of owner-occupied ones. This is probably an underestimate, as a recent survey found that five million social housing tenants had lived in a damp property at some point. Damp is often caused by poor heating systems or poor ventilation.

    In all types of housing, the damp figure rises to 13% for some dual heritage households, and 10% for some Black and Bangladeshi ones. It is likely that much of this percentage is, again, social housing – given these ethnic groups make up some of the largest proportions of residents. Recently, a coroner said two-year-old Awaab Ishak died because of the mould in his house – which the council hadn’t bothered to deal with.

    Cold homes: killing people

    Meanwhile, 31% of residents’ heating and hot water problems were due to social housing associations not doing their jobs properly. On top of this, social housing landlords are notoriously bad at insulating their housing stock. 44% of social housing falls below the standards needed by 2030. Social housing landlords’ dire track records on insulation is costing residents over £500 a year in increased bills, on average. Couple this with the government’s real-terms social security cuts – amounting to £13,000 a year for some people – and the situation is dire.

    Around 12,000 people die every year in the UK due to cold homes. However, this was in years without the huge energy price increases and sky-rocketing inflation we’ve seen this year. So the death toll from cold homes is likely to be even higher. This is why Lewis got so angry – and why he urged people to spread the word. Lewis is working with CILIP, and has created a guide for setting up warm spaces:

    Lewis: picking up the pieces of systemic failures

    So, it’s down to the poorest people to heed every human-heating tip Lewis gives us. This is where you heat your body, not your home:

    Meanwhile, social housing landlords allow people to live in dangerously low-quality, cold homes while the government cuts their benefits. Little wonder that Lewis is angry. The creation of official warm banks would have been completely avoidable, if there was the will from the government and social housing landlords. Sadly, there isn’t. So Lewis is once again left picking up the pieces.

    Meanwhile, as communities, we must stick together and support each other.

    Featured image via ITV Hub – screengrab 

    By Steve Topple

  • Britain’s third largest energy supplier has apologised after it advised customers to “have a cuddle with your pets” to stay warm and save on heating bills. It comes as MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis has announced his intentions to fund a new £100,000 advice service for vulnerable energy customers, warning bills will rise by 51% on 1 April “unless the Government intervenes”.

    Pet peeves

    According to the Financial Times, Ovo Energy last week emailed customers a list of 10 “simple and cost-effective ways to keep warm this winter”. As well as cuddling pets for warmth, other tips included “challenging the kids to a hula hoop competition”, “doing star jumps”, and “cleaning the house”.

    It came as Britain’s dire cost-of-living crisis is expected to worsen.

    According to some predictions, energy bills could rise by more than 50% in April for millions of households that are on a standard tariff. Bristol North West MP and chairman of the Business Select Committee Darren Jones branded Ovo Energy’s tips “offensive” and called on the company to apologise.

    In a subsequent tweet, he wrote:

    I’m not sure who signed off a marketing campaign telling people to wear a jumper and eat porridge instead of turning on the heating if you can’t afford it.

    Ovo has since apologised for the tips, telling the FT:

    We understand how difficult the situation will be for many of our customers this year.

    We are working hard to find meaningful solutions as we approach this energy crisis, and we recognise that the content of this blog was poorly judged and unhelpful. We are embarrassed and sincerely apologise.

    A woman carries her dog during day one of Crufts 2017 at the NEC in Birmingham.
    Customers were told to have ‘a cuddle with your pets and loved ones to help stay cosy’ (Joe Giddens/PA)

    Privatised energy has created a crisis for customers

    In April, the price cap, which limits the amounts energy suppliers can charge, will rise. It is already at a record £1,277, but analysts at Investec think it could go up to £1,995. According to Cornwall Insights, it could spike to £2,240 a year at the following quarterly revaluation in August 2022 without a significant fall in energy prices globally.

    The increases are due to a major spike in global gas prices, which have been pushed up by high demand around the world. Those in favour of nationalisation argue that if the energy sector had remained in public hands, the ‘profits’ made when prices were less steep could have been used to balance out the current situation. In such a situation, energy bills could theoretically also be cheaper at other times because shareholders would no longer be extracting money from the system.

    Trade body Energy UK’s chief executive Emma Pinchbeck said last month that the government could cut each household bill by £90 by slashing taxes or VAT. Meanwhile, bills could be cut by a further £190 by bringing forward proposals on removing policy costs.

    The crisis has led to talk of nationalisation, albeit not from the Conservative or Labour parties. In September 2021, Keir Starmer actually made it clear that Labour would not re-nationalise the failing sector despite how popular such a move would likely be.

    Writing in the i newspaper, a Bulb employee said of nationalisation:

    The fact that the company’s continued operations are being paid for by the UK government shows how straightforward the process could be

    They also noted:

    Since the privatisation of the energy sector back in 1990, energy companies have funnelled billions of pounds back to private shareholders. Since then, the price people pay for their energy bills has continued to increase despite the argument that a privatised energy sector would be more efficient and therefore cheaper

    The money saving expert

    Speaking on his proposed initiative, Martin Lewis said the money would go to fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA) to “free up its helplines” by 1 April, when expected increases to the government’s energy price cap will come into effect on consumers’ bills.

    In a tweet, Lewis wrote that 1 April would see energy bills rise by 51% unless the government intervened, adding:

    His funding announcement follows his warning last week that households could expect to take a “seismic” hit to their energy bills which could force some to decide whether to heat their homes or eat.

    A poll by NEA found six out of 10 British adults say they would reduce their heating use by a fair amount or a great deal if the cost of heating doubles.

    Some 85% of UK residential buildings, or 23 million homes, are still currently connected to the gas grid, using a boiler and central heating system.

    Martin Lewis
    Martin Lewis (Ian West/PA)

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Households can expect to take a “seismic” hit to their energy bills which could force some to decide whether to eat or heat their homes, according to a consumer expert.

    Crisis Britain

    Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis said the government must intervene now to avoid a crisis in the energy market. He told the PA news agency:

    This year is going to be a very tough year for many people. The energy price crisis needs substantial intervention from the Government.

    We are going to see a minimum 50% increase in energy prices in the system and that is unsustainable for many.

    Martin Lewis
    Martin Lewis has warned soaring energy bills will create huge problems this year (Jeff Overs/PA)

    The government’s energy price cap is due to be revised in February, with the increase put onto customers’ bills from April. According to Cornwall Insights, an energy sector specialist, bills could rise from £1,277 a year under the current price cap to £1,865 a year when the next revision is announced, a rise of 46%.

    They also predict it could spike to £2,240 a year at the following quarterly revaluation in August 2022 without a significant fall in energy prices globally.

    Lewis said:

    We need to look at what we can do now and how we can protect those people who will need to choose between heating and eating. There are already some who are having to make that choice. We need to look at the whole structure of the energy market.

    The Government didn’t intervene early enough so we’re all paying for the market collapses we’re seeing.

    Collapse

    Several firms went bust in 2021, with customers at other energy firms picking up the tab for the collapses, whilst the government also took over the running of Bulb after it failed last November. Ofgem has subsequently announced changes to how much other energy firms, and eventually customers, can be forced to pay to fund rivals’ collapses.

    Lewis added that there needs to be greater protection for the most vulnerable, who may not be able to shop around for the best deals, or may be stuck on more expensive pre-payment options.

    He said:

    What’s coming in April is a seismic hit for fuel bills which is going to be astronomical. The Government has been meeting the energy industry but they’ve not been meeting the consumer groups. Certainly, I’ve not heard of any taking place.

    They have to sort this now because if we leave this before it’s too late it will be a disaster.

    A government spokesperson said:

    Protecting consumers is our top priority which is why our Energy Price Cap will remain in place.

    We are also supporting vulnerable and low-income households further through initiatives such as the £500 million Household Support Fund, Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments. Domestic fuels such as gas and electricity are also already subject to the reduced rate of 5% of VAT.

    Re-nationalise it

    The situation has led to talk of nationalisation, albeit not from the Conservative or Labour parties. In September 2021, Keir Starmer actually made it clear that Labour would not re-nationalise the failing sector despite how popular such a move would likely be.

    Writing in the i newspaper, a Bulb employee said of nationalisation:

    The fact that the company’s continued operations are being paid for by the UK government shows how straightforward the process could be

    They also noted:

    Since the privatisation of the energy sector back in 1990, energy companies have funnelled billions of pounds back to private shareholders. Since then, the price people pay for their energy bills has continued to increase despite the argument that a privatised energy sector would be more efficient and therefore cheaper

    And they added:

    The decisions made in the last week, where Bulb’s continued operations will be paid for by the UK government – via a “special administrator” – shows how straightforward nationalisation could be. We can look to the temporarily nationalised Eastern Railway as an example of how this could work. In the five years that the railway was nationalised and run by the Department for Transport, the railway generated £1 billion for the UK taxpayer. A nationalised Bulb, run by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, could focus on ensuring Bulb members aren’t negatively affected and have an initial aim of becoming profitable. If a nationalised Bulb continued to operate for the next 10 years, how much could it earn for the taxpayer? Initially, it could repay any debts accrued throughout this winter. Any further income generated could be re-invested to upgrade cold, drafty homes, making them both warm and affordable.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.