Leading Lone Parent Charity Tackles Fuel Poverty at National Conference

29th September 2006

With the potential for three quarters (73%) of single parents living in inadequately heated housing this winter, the issue of fuel poverty has become the focus of a national conference for single parent families taking place this weekend.

Gingerbread the leading lone parent charity, has joined forces with the not-for-profit Home Heat Helpline, which is funded by energy suppliers, to run home energy work shops at their annual general meeting taking place at Pontins, Blackpool on Saturday 30th September.

The Home Heat Helpline partnered with Gingerbread following research which found single parents were more likely to struggle with their heating bills with more than half (55%) of single parents across the UK saying they only heat selected rooms to reduce their bills.

Gwen Vaughan, Chief Executive of Gingerbread, the UK’s leading support organisation for lone parents’ comments ‘With winter fast approaching it is crucial that lone parent families have all the information they need to prepare for the winter ahead. Increasing fuel prices have placed an added pressure on single parent families, which is why Gingerbread has chosen to focus on this subject at our annual conference. The Home Heat Helpline workshops will help many single parents who have trouble paying their home heating bills to become more energy aware and save money on their heating bills.”

The research also found a quarter (26%) of single parents in the UK pay their bills late, compared to only 12% of two parent families across the country.

Single parents are also more worried about their bills than their cohabitating counterparts, with over two thirds (68%) saying they worried about bill payments, compared to only 43% of two parent families.

In fact overall single parents are under greater financial pressure than their co-habituating counterparts, with 74% saying they have to juggle their monthly expenditure so they can meet the financial pressures they face on a daily basis. This compares to only half (52%) of co-habituating parents.

Rt Hon Beverley Hughes MP, Minister for Children, Young People and Families comments:
‘I wholeheartedly welcome Gingerbread’s partnership with the Home Heat Helpline. Living in an inadequately heated home can have a very serious impact on health - especially for children. Ensuring homes are sufficiently warm can be a real worry for households on lower incomes. So I would encourage any single parent who is concerned about paying their fuel bills to call the free Home Heat Helpline on 0800 33 66 99. Expert advice on how to be energy efficient, keep fuel bills down, and arrange affordable repayments is only a telephone call away.’

Duncan Sedgwick, Chief Executive of the Energy Retail Association which runs the Home Heat Helpline adds: ‘Lone parents are often under greater financial pressure and therefore an increased risk from fuel property. In fact our research shows that over half (55%) of single parents would like more advice on paying their home heating bills but a similar amount (48%) are not sure who to turn to. We are delighted to host our workshops at Gingerbread’s AGM as it allows us to make those single parents in danger of fuel poverty know that by phoning the Home Heat Helpline (0800 33 66 99) help is at hand’.

The Home Heat Hotline (0800 33 66 99) is a free help line which had been set up to advise anyone worried about paying their heating bills. Callers can talk to specially trained staff who can provide help and advice with their home heating bills including grants to make homes more energy efficient, arranging alternative payment methods to suit their circumstances, accessing a priority service team of specialist advisers and providing links to other support agencies.

For more information about Home Heat Helpline please visit: www.homeheathelpline.org

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Media Contacts:
For further information and interviews with case studies, please contact either:
Sophie Dean: 020 7861 3117 or Kim Power: 020 7861 2430 (Public Relations)
Suzi Darsa: 020 7930 9174 Home Heat Helpline
Out of hours contact number: 07887 523 522 / 07770 701999

Notes to Editors:
1. Survey carried out on behalf on the ERA by YouGov and polled 1347 GB parents between 1-17 May 2006
2. The Home Heat Helpline operates from Monday to Friday 9am-8pm and from 10am-2pm on Saturday. There is a free minicom number (0800 027 2122) and the Helpline also has access to interpreters for those callers whose first language is not English
3. The Helpline is operated by The essentiagroup and is staffed by expert advisers, including former health professionals, who are trained to give advice on how to stay warm during the cold weather. They are also trained and authorised to deal with intermediaries calling on behalf of vulnerable customers, such as friends, carers, social workers or health visitors
4. The Home Heat Helpline was launched by the Energy Retail Association which was established in October 2003 and is the only dedicated trade association for domestic energy suppliers in the UK. The Energy Retail Association’s mission is to identify areas where its members can work for the common good without competitive advantage.
5. Gingerbread is the leading and largest charity providing help for 2.5 million lone parents and their children nationally. For further information visit www.gingerbread.org.uk

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