Council urged to get best fuel poverty deal for Rochdale

Council urged to get best fuel poverty deal for Rochdale.

Rochdale’s Labour Parliamentary Candidate, Simon Danczuk, has welcomed a £1billion Government package of energy saving measures, but has urged Rochdale Council and the town’s MP Paul Rowen to make sure Rochdale benefits from additional fuel poverty initiatives.

Speaking after the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, announced that 11 million lower income and pensioner households would get cavity wall insulation, low energy lightbulbs, real time displays and energy saverplugs free of charge, and that cold weather payments for the most vulnerable will be increased from £8.50 to £25 a week, Mr Danczuk said the raft of measures being introduced to tackle high energy prices would help thousands of people in Rochdale.

“I am pleased to see that there will be a freeze on this year’s bills for the poorest families and that thousands of households will be offered discounted home energy audits to identify how they can make their homes more efficient,” he said.

He added that, as part of the measures, the Government would also be launching a new £350 million Community Energy Saving Programme in around 100 fuel-poor areas to go street-by-street through communities offering free and discounted central heating, energy efficiency measures and benefit checks.

“I understand these area-based schemes will be carried out through partnerships - for example between local authorities, community organisations and social enterprises,” he explained. “So I hope Rochdale Council and our MP will be working hard to ensure that Rochdale is chosen as one of these schemes. We’ve already seen reports of how the Council’s Affordable Warmth Strategy is falling behind on its targets, which is why I’m urging our local politicians to make this a priority and get as much support for Rochdale as possible. People are really feeling the pinch and they need all the help they can get.”

A recent council survey showed that 34 per cent of the total households in Rochdale are in fuel poverty.