It's good news that efforts to divert the winter fuel allowance voluntarily from the comfortably-off to those who actually need it are getting more organised.
I'm one – 61, healthy, well-paid and with absolutely no justification for taking £200 from fellow-taxpayers. So I haven't, which is one option. But using simple and efficient ways of passing the dosh on are another alternative, provided you remember actually to do it.
Leeds has just seen a fillip to this sort of redistribution: a 'die-in' on Briggate outside Harvey Nichols to draw attention to the real dangers of winter freezes and fuel poverty when combined. Ten members of Leeds Fuel Poverty Action took part, raising the profile of the issue with passers-by whose minds would otherwise, probably, have been on shopping and their own concerns.
The demonstration coincided with one outside Parliament in London and underlined causes for alarm such as the ONS estimated increase of 1200 winter deaths last year, taking the excess over past averages to 25,700. Statistics are always a minefield but the worrying figures are stacking up: there are estimates that fuel poverty has risen by a fifth year-on-year while the cost of energy rises.
The die-in chose the neighbourhood of Harvey Nichols and the Victoria Quarter to make the contrast between the extreme anxiety of those at risk and the continuing high standard of living of many who are not. This argument will not carry everyone; Harvey Nichols has been an important part of Leeds' prosperity and success in recent times. But it pricks the conscience, especially in faith communities, which are part of Leeds Fuel Poverty Action.
Laura McFarlane from the group says:
We are outside Harvey Nichols today to highlight the horrific effect of inequality in the UK: while some live in opulence others die because they cannot heat their homes. We need a fairer energy economy based upon the provision of needs rather than the ability to pay.
Simon Bowens from Leeds Friends of the Earth says:
It is appalling that vulnerable people are dying in poorly insulated homes that are increasingly expensive to heat. The Big Six energy companies have a moral duty to invest in sustainable and affordable energy supply rather than pushing up bills through increasingly costly fossil fuels.
At the same time, the Government needs to rethink its proposals to reduce the feed-in tariff, cuts which have already led to 5000 households in Leeds being prevented from receiving free renewable electricity.
Ways of passing on your winter fuel allowance, if you have claimed it, are detailed in the Guardian piece by Hilary Osborne linked in the first paragraph above, but they include the Community Foundations Network, the Cumbria Winter Warmth Fund and Saga.
