ENDING COLD HOMES

That this House welcomes the Ending Cold Homes: Affordable Warmth Manifesto launched by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, an alliance of over 50 poverty, environmental and consumer groups, trade unions and other civil society organisations; supports the Manifesto's core aim of ending the misery of fuel poverty in the UK; further supports the six key pledges set out in the Manifesto: to improve the energy efficiency standards of all low income homes to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band C by 2025, to make energy efficiency a national infrastructure priority, to implement a cross-departmental fuel poverty strategy, to use trusted agencies and organisations, such as local authorities, to improve homes and encourage health and social workers to refer people for home improvements, to require fuel companies to provide a better deal for low income households, with rebates on fuel bills to all low income consumers and to ensure employment and income policies provide a sufficient income to pay fuel bills and maintain a good standard of living; and therefore urges current and future governments to support the Affordable Warmth Manifesto and take immediate action on fuel poverty to improve the quality of millions of people's lives across the UK.