Matthew Reed, Chief Executive of The Children's Society, says that the choice between heating and eating is one no one should have to make
The extreme winter weather has brought misery and chaos to thousands of people.
But away from the dramatic pictures of devastated communities, millions of Britain’s poorest families have already been facing severe hardship this winter.
They face the tough choice between heating or eating. A new “heat or eat” generation is a shame on any government.
Today, a survey that we carried out with the Daily Mirror shockingly reveals that five million families are likely to turn their heating down because they can’t afford it. And three million are likely to cut back on food so they can pay their energy bills.
More than half of these families are worried that their children will become ill because their home is too cold. But for many, they have no other option.
Turning the heating on can also drive families into debt. About half a million families told us they are likely to have to take a loan out this winter to help with heating their home. Every day we see families whose homes are so cold that their clothes have nowhere to dry properly.
Parents only turning the heating on for up to a couple of hours a day when their children come home from school. Tragically, some families struggle even to do this.
But solutions are possible. One simple measure that The Children’s Society is calling for is to have all poor families with children get the Warm Home Discount automatically. This is critical to making sure that those most in need can keep their homes warm.
Currently, children living in poverty are not entitled to this key support automatically and, therefore, those most in need do not always get it.
So I urge you to join our fight against child poverty today. Please text WARM to 70099 . No child should have to grow up in a cold home.
Mirror
