LOCAL MP BACKS FUEL POVERTY AWARENESS DAY

Glenrothes & Central Fife MP Peter Grant is showing his support for Cosy Kingdom and the work that they do to help and tackle fuel poverty throughout the county.

The most recent figures show that 40% of households in Fife are living in fuel poverty, meaning they spend more than 10% of their income on energy bill.

This can happen to anyone in a community, and it can simply be caused by an extra cold or extended winter, or their property being poorly insulated, but Mr Grant pointed to actions by the UK Government that are making the problem worse.

He said,

“The UK Government is not doing nearly enough to address the scandal of low pay and insecure zero-hours contracts. These mean that a lot of people who have officially got a job don’t earn enough to pay their household bills. We’re seeing an ongoing assault on people’s entitlement to benefits, and again this is driving people into poverty. Finally in the last few days we’ve seen energy companies taking advantage of the raising of the price cap by immediately imposing price increases three times the rate of inflation.

“It’s shameful that in a country that produces far more energy than we use, so many people can’t afford to keep themselves warm. Over 66,0001 households in Fife are living in fuel poverty, and this number is increasing.”

Mr Grant encouraged constituents to contact Cosy Kingdom for advice on how to make their fuel bills more affordable. He said,

“Cosy Kingdom, who are part of Greener Kirkcaldy, do excellent work throughout our communities and offer lots of advice and support on how to make your house as energy efficient as possible. They also offer a home visit service where they will offer free and impartial fuel debt management advice.

“Given the cold temperatures that we have already experienced this winter, I would like to encourage everyone who thinks they could use some advice and support to contact Cosy Kingdom on 01592 858458.”