Energy bills: older people frightened to heat their homes need help- Brian Sloan

This summer Age Scotland, working in partnership with SGN, surveyed more than 1,000 over-50s in Scotland to gain insight into their experiences, views and perceptions on energy use, energy efficiency and home safety.

Our Taking the Temperature energy report has now been published and paints an incredibly worrying picture of how older people are coping with rising energy costs. The fact so many older people were already struggling when this research was conducted, during the warmest and brightest months of the year, should set alarm bells ringing.

Our research highlighted that tour in ten older people feel they are living in fuel poverty, around 15 percentage points higher than the Scottish Government’s estimate. It also reveals a dramatic fall in the proportion of older households able to heat their home to a comfortable level, from 88 per cent in 2018 to 46 per cent in 2022. The report shows respondents dipping into savings, heating only one room of their home, making sacrifices on other essentials such as food and travel, and even switching their heating off altogether in an attempt to cope with rising costs.

The cost-of-living crisis is forcing many older people to make incredibly difficult financial choices, between powering and heating their homes and the food they can afford to buy. One survey respondent told us: “The cost-of-living increase means I had to cut back on food shopping and often go for weeks with no food. It's making me unwell.” Another said: “I stopped using my heating in May 2022. I only use one lamp in the evening, have stopped making bread and scones and wear a fleece dressing gown with a blanket when I sit in the evening. When I boil a kettle I make a flask of coffee as well as a cup of coffee. I am not looking forward to the winter and having to be more frugal.” Cutting back on food, heating, essentials and treats means life for many older people in Scotland is far too hard and worrying about rising prices is clearly impacting older people’s mental health.

Brian Sloan, chief executive, Age Scotland.

The devastating impact of rising costs has been apparent for months but will truly hit home as the weather turns colder and the latest Ofgem price cap increase comes into effect. Failing to go further than the future Energy Price Guarantee puts huge numbers of older people and those who are vulnerable at further risk from surging fuel poverty levels, ill health, financial insecurity, and falling into unmanageable debt.

Age Scotland believes that there needs to be much more targeted financial support and practical home enhancements for those on low and modest incomes to help vulnerable people survive the worst of this crisis. Ultimately, we desperately need reassurances from governments that older people will not be left to face this cost-of-living crisis alone.

We’re here to help. Any older person worried about the energy crisis should call Age Scotland’s energy advisory service on their national 0800 12 44 222 helpline.

Read our Taking the Temperature report at www.age.scot/energysurvey

Brian Sloan, chief executive at Age Scotland