Age UK’s response to the Prime Minster’s announcement of £53m of support for oil heated households

Caroline Abrahams CBE, Charity Director at Age UK said: “We welcome the Government's recognition that households using heating oil require support, and it’s good that funding will be made available. However, we need to see the detail on how this will be delivered, and our strong sense is that £53 million is unlikely to match the scale of the challenge, given the number of households affected , many of them headed by older people who are already struggling with ongoing cost-of-living pressures.

“It’s also important to recognise that there are other groups of older people who are also facing immediate price rises – including some heat network consumers, park home residents and care home residents – who are not covered by this plan.

“For context, even before prices started rising because of the war, nationally representative polling commissioned for Age UK found that this winter one in three people aged 66+ (35%) – around 4.2 million – had recently cut back on heating or powering their homes. The clear implication is that many older people simply cannot cope with another increase in energy costs. 

“We believe the Government should go further than has been announced today. Local authorities need sufficient resources and flexibility to respond quickly when people face sudden financial crises, and the scale of support  on offer must reflect the level of need we’re seeing among older households.”