New fuel measures: Winners and losers

Gordon Brown has agreed a package of measures with the big energy companies aimed at helping people with soaring gas and electricity bills.

It includes half price insulation for all households and a freeze on this year's bills for the poorest families.

But not everyone will benefit.

THE LOSER

Iris Hudson, 68, is one of the losers of today's announcement.

She and her husband, 71, both retired art lecturers, live in a Victorian terraced house in Fulham, west London.

Under the government scheme, all over-70s qualify for free assistance to help improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

However due to the age of her property, Iris' walls are solid and as a result are more difficult and more expensive to insulate than more modern cavity walls.

DID YOU KNOW?

• 7 million UK houses have solid walls
• 2 million houses have cavity walls that can't be insulated
• 35% of the 24.7 million UK households can't benefit from cavity wall insulation
• 9 million houses which do have cavity walls aren't yet insulated
• 15 million homes have inadequate loft insulation

Add to this that her loft doubles as an art studio and has no real scope for insulation.

"The government should be prepared to arrange alternative ways of helping a house like this which isn't capable of being insulated in a way that they're prepared to fund," says Iris.

The Energy Saving Trust estimates that there are approximately 7 million houses in the UK which do not have cavity walls.

With customers' fuel bills likely to end up funding much of the measures announces today, all these households look set to lose out.

THE WINNER

Basil Khan, a pensioner from Maidenhead, is an example of those who'll benefit from the government's £1bn package.

He's just had cavity wall and loft insulation installed for free - a move that could slice £300 off his yearly energy bills.

Basil has lived in his house for 51 years and found out about the CERT (Carbon Emissions Reduction Target) scheme earlier this year when he contacted his energy company about rising fuel costs.

An energy efficiency check revealed that his was one of the 7.3m homes in the UK that had cavity walls without insulation.

"I hope to have more comfortable winters, and if I save a bit of money, that's good too," said Basil.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Energy Saving Trust
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