Energy crisis: figures show 17% of Scarborough borough households living in fuel poverty

Data from the Government' s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy show that out of 52,640 households across the borough, 8,824 were living in fuel poverty in 2019.

And there are fears that figure is only going to get worse with huge hikes in energy prices on the way.

Peter Matejic, Deputy Director of Evidence & Impact at Joseph Rowntree Foundation said: “Rising energy prices are yet another indication that going ahead with the planned £20 per week cut to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credits would be a mistake.

"This increase was needed because levels of social security support were no longer adequate to protect families and going back to those levels now, when the cost of living is increasing, will be devastating to around 5.5 million families.”

“This historic cut will have the most severe impact in areas already experiencing high levels of fuel poverty, namely Yorkshire and the Humber and the West Midlands, but wherever they live, millions of families across the country will immediately face unnecessary hardship and be forced to make impossible decisions between feeding their families, heating their homes, or paying the bills.”

“If the Prime Minister wants to truly level up and improve living standards in the face of the rising cost of living, he must reverse this damaging cut or risk his premiership being defined by plunging people into poverty.”

A Government spokesperson said: “We are making significant progress in tackling fuel poverty, with the Energy Company Obligation installing over 3.3 million measures in 2.3 million homes to date, replacing 750,000 boilers.

"Given its success, we have extended the scheme to 2026 and boosted its funding to £1 billion.

"But we want to go further and faster, ensuring nobody goes cold in their own home.

"That is why we are investing £1.3 billion into making homes more energy efficient, cheaper to heat and helping low-income families significantly reduce their energy bills."