An ice sculpture of classic two-up, two-down terraced homes has been unveiled – shining a spotlight on the millions of people living in fuel poverty across the UK. At three metres wide and one and a half metres tall, the installation symbolises households left ‘frozen’ by rising energy costs.
The sculpture, displayed in London’s Borough Yards, is part of a campaign by Skipton Building Society, Age UK and National Energy Action to highlight the growing crisis facing households.
Sylvia Stoianova, programme director from the University of Bristol’s National Child Mortality Database, said warm dry homes are a life-saving necessity calling for ‘urgent’ action to address inequalities that are leaving both older people and the very young exposed to unsafe living conditions.
She said:“Fuel poverty forces many families into impossible choices between warmth and other essential needs – causing avoidable suffering and, at times, loss of life.”
She highlighted that a range of serious health issues in babies and children can be linked to cold homes including low birthweight, preterm birth, and delayed development. A lack of heating can also lead to damp and mould, which triggers respiratory problems and worsens asthma outcomes.
Alongside this, Paul Farmer, CEO at Age UK, highlighted that around 1.1 million homes in the UK with a person aged 60 or over live in fuel poverty.
“Rising energy prices and inflationary hikes to basic daily essentials are already eating into low-income pensioner budgets, many of whom have few or little savings to fall back on.”
“This campaign is shining a light on this crisis hiding in plain sight and giving us the opportunity to raise awareness of the support available for older people, and why it’s so needed.”
As part of the campaign, 1,500 adults aged 65 and over were surveyed, which found 42% are worried about the winter with the cost of heating and energy bills topping their list of concerns. With more than half expecting the cost of energy to put significant pressure on their finances this winter.
Michaela Wright, group head of sustainability at Skipton Building Society, which is encouraging donations to the campaign online and in each of its branches, said: “The situation is heartbreaking. No one should have to choose between staying warm and affording life’s essentials. Yet our research shows this is the reality for far too many people.”
She explained that they were working with their charity partners, Age UK and National Energy Action, who had been chosen by Skipton’s members and colleagues, not only to raise awareness but also to provide practical support.
In addition to the charity partners receiving part of their 1% profit before tax as a charitable donation, the partners would receive a further £50,000 split between them as part of the campaign. As they hope this will bring warmth and reassurance to those who need it most.
National Energy Action’s chief executive Adam Scorer added: “Our mission is to ensure everyone can afford to live in a warm, healthy home.”
