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Eco groups call for increased funding to end fuel poverty

Two environmental groups have called on the government to plough some £9.2 billion into lifting the UK's vulnerable households out of fuel poverty.

The Centre for Sustainable Energy and the Association for the Conservation of Energy (Ace) have produced a report which suggests that current measures are insufficient to meet its 2010 targets, the Press Association recounts.

Encouraging the uptake of renewable energy, funding the installation of insulation and updating old heating systems should be the focuses of the government's activity in helping people control their energy use, the organisations claims.

"[The government] should ensure that these programmes are sufficiently resourced to step up the number of measures installed and expand the list of measures available to include solid-wall insulation and renewable energy technologies such as solar hot water," says Pedro Guertler, spokesperson for Ace.

According to the Local Government Association, insulation is the best way in which to tackle fuel poverty.

Meanwhile, a funding programme for the east of England that would see £1 million invested in renewables, has been criticised by Age Concern Norfolk, which claims the plans will not help those in need.

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