Birmingham 'warm banks' plan ahead of energy cap increase
Libraries, art galleries and community centres in Birmingham could be used as ‘warm banks’ for people unable to afford to heat their homes in the winter months.
Birmingham City Council has confirmed it is currently mapping plans to identify spaces where people can go to keep warm, access services, and spend time with other people.
The buildings will be part of a network across Birmingham which will provide warm shelter to help reduce excess winter deaths linked to freezing conditions.
It comes as many Brummies face a leap in energy bills from October after Ofgem raised the energy price cap, taking the average gas and electricity bill to £3,549 a year.
In a blow for hard-pressed consumers already struggling with soaring inflation, the energy regulator approved the £1,578 increase on the current figure of £1,971 for the average dual-fuel tariff – a rise of 80 per cent. It will treble what it was a year earlier last October, when it was raised to £1,277.
Councillor John Cotton, cabinet member for social justice, community safety and equalities at Birmingham City Council, said: “Earlier this year, we topped up the government’s Household Support Fund by a further £1.3 million to help families and older people who were struggling with the cost of living. This undoubtedly helped people, but we know that more support is needed to help people this winter.
“Keeping warm will be a huge challenge for so many people, with the price of using domestic heating spiralling. We are going to work with partners to map out spaces across the city where people can go to keep warm.
“Whether that’s local community centres, places of worship or libraries, we want to help people to find places where they will be welcomed, free of charge. As a council we will then work with our partners across the city to identify gaps in provision and find solutions to fill them.
“It should not be the case that people cannot afford to keep their homes warm, but that is the reality that we are facing here in Birmingham. By mapping out the places where people can go to keep warm, we can help some of the most vulnerable people in our city.”
The crisis is particularly stark in Birmingham with high levels of deprivation and a high density of poorly insulated homes across the housing market. Of the top 13 constituencies in the country for fuel poverty, six of them are within Birmingham.
