Charity calls for health tariff

A Midlands charity is calling for health tariffs to be introduced to support people living with health conditions to pay their energy bills.

Citizens Advice Sandwell and Walsall is looking to raise awareness of the issue people with health conditions are facing when it comes to putting their heating on.

The team are currently gathering evidence from people who are likely to have increased energy costs due to no fault of their own.

Emma Pardoe, Service Manager at Citizens Advice Sandwell and Walsall, said: “We’ve been running a local campaign for a while, but we think it has the potential to be national.

“We’re seeing more people accessing our service with a health condition.

“They may have COPD and need a regular supply of oxygen, or they may have cancer and have gone through chemotherapy so need the heating on at home.

“As a result, these people are either having to pay more for the energy they use or fall further ill because they can’t afford to use more energy in the home.

“We want to raise awareness of this and see whether energy providers would introduce a new tariff – a health tariff – for these people who need to use their energy.

“We see it with a few providers where people can have energy at cheaper rates at certain periods of the day, so we can’t see why people who can prove they need to use their energy can’t have something similar. It would potentially help to reduce the burden on the NHS, too.”

The charity’s call comes on the back of them proactively reaching out to community groups in their area, delivering workshops on energy advice and benefit support.

Friendly advisors armed with quick tips and advice held 42 workshop sessions out in the community last year, supporting 319 people. They work with local organisations like community centres, schools, churches and nurseries.

The team are on hand to help people understand their energy bills better, make small changes around the house to make a positive impact on their bills and also undertake benefit checks to ensure people are maximising their income.

Emma added: “Our workshops go down really well. Because of our relationship with the local foodbank, we’re able to provide people with immediate support and vouchers.

“The workshops are usually bespoke to the needs of the audience. For example, if we’re speaking to elderly people, we focus on Pension Credit and certain passported benefits. But if we’re speaking to people who don’t speak English as a first language, we might focus on benefit checks and what people might be able to claim. Younger people can be more embarrassed about seeking help, so we offer more one on one sessions for them.

“The demographic may be different but we’re encountering the same sorts of problems wherever we go. Our area is in the top 10% for deprivation in the country, with people not only facing fuel poverty, but actually in fuel poverty.

“We have a diverse range of people in our area, with lots of people who don’t have English as a first language, which is a huge barrier.

“This often leads to people getting into debt over misunderstanding of their energy bills. A lot of people don’t understand their energy bills are using estimated readings – and all this comes out at our workshops.”

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