Money Alert: Surviving Winter

Stephen Hammersley, chief executive of UKCF: 'Two-fifths of people affected by fuel poverty have had to cut back on food or skip meals'

Stephen Hammersley, chief executive of UKCF, said: “We know that last year around 30,000 deaths – mostly older people - were due to winter conditions. People are dying of the cold in this country.” (Reuters)

Worried about relatives or friends struggling to pay energy bills?

The Surviving Winter appeal has been launched to raise cash for people facing fuel poverty in the colder months.

The appeal, run by UK Community Foundations (UKCF), began as a way to recycle winter fuel payments that people didn’t feel that they needed. Now it’s been expanded to take in donations from everyone. The cash will be used to pay for individual bursaries for everything from fuel bills and hot water bottles to lunch clubs for older people and boiler repairs.

Stephen Hammersley, chief executive of UKCF, said: “We know that last year around 30,000 deaths – mostly older people - were due to winter conditions. People are dying of the cold in this country.”

The initiative is supported by the charity Turn2us, whose director, Alison Taylor, said: “We hear daily from people struggling to pay their energy bills and the devastating impact this has on their lives. Two-fifths of people affected by fuel poverty have had to cut back on food or skip meals.”

For information about the campaign go to survivingwinter.org.uk.