Brits struggling to cope with the cost of heating their homes this winter will be able to gather at libraries, museums and other communal centres in plans for “warm banks”.
The huge hike in energy prices has left many wondering how they are going to cope over the coming months when the colder weather hits.
The average bill is to rise to £3,576 in October with the new price cap and this is likely to be followed by further massive increases in January and April that could leave consumers facing staggering £5,000 costs to heat households.
Anger is mounting at inaction in Government over the general spiralling cost of living which has led to strikes and the country faces coordinated industrial action this autumn.
But much depends on who will replace Boris Johnson next month as Prime Minister in terms of aid, and he has said that whoever does will announce “another huge package of financial support”.
Mr Johnson has hinted at the scale of the options to ease the burden being teed up for either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak to consider, as he said "we must and we will help people through the crisis".
But in the meantime councils up and down the country are looking at using public centres to keep people out of the cold in the same way as “food banks” have been used to feed the hungry, reports the Times.
Birmingham, Bristol, Dundee, Glasgow and Aberdeen councils have all reportedly said they are investigating the use of “warm banks”.
Residents in Birmingham will be able to search a “heat bank map” which could be community centres, libraries or churches.
Councillor John Cotton, cabinet member for social justice, community safety and equalities at Birmingham city council, said: “Earlier this year, we topped up the government’s Household Support Fund by a further £1.3 million to help families and older people who were struggling with the cost of living. This undoubtedly helped people, but we know that more support is needed to help people this winter.
“Keeping warm will be a huge challenge for so many people, with the price of using domestic heating spiralling. We are going to work with partners to map out spaces across the city where people can go to keep warm.
“Whether that’s local community centres, places of worship or libraries, we want to help people to find places where they will be welcomed, free of charge. As a council we will then work with our partners across the city to identify gaps in provision and find solutions to fill them.
“It should not be the case that people cannot afford to keep their homes warm, but that is the reality that we are facing here in Birmingham. By mapping out the places where people can go to keep warm, we can help some of the most vulnerable people in our city."
Bristol City Council was one of the first to look at setting up “warm places” and Mayor Marvin Rees said that they had been discussing having them since last May.
He said: "Looking at our city, where we have ongoing challenges with inequality, we know people are facing a crisis right here, right now. But our approach has been to say the blessing is that people do not need to put their heating on, but we anticipate a gear change when people do need to put their heating on in the autumn."
