The End Fuel Poverty Coalition reports: New Ofgem figures reveal that household energy debt has soared to £4.43 billion in Q2 2025 – more than triple pre-energy crisis levels and three-quarters of a billion pounds more than this time last year – leaving millions of families trapped in arrears they cannot escape. The latest data [1] shows: £1.45bn in debt and arrears at the end of 2020 (pre-crisis) £3.69bn last year (Q2 2024) £4.43bn in Q2 2025 (latest figures) The regulator also reports that 1,133,683 electricity customers and 926,545 gas customers are now in debt without any repayment arrangement in place. Many households may owe on both accounts, meaning over a million households are struggling in energy debt. The burden of this energy debt is shared by all bill-payers, with households facing up to an extra £145 a year on their bills to cover the collective cost of debt. At the same time, new analysis from the Common Wealth think tank shows that around 24% of every household energy bill is taken as profit by the energy industry. The regulator and Ministers are due to launch a new Debt Relief Scheme in the coming months, but while this is supported by members of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, campaigners have warned it must be simple to understand and accessible. [2] Debt experts have advised that it must include automatic eligibility for people on means-tested benefits, clear rules on what debt is covered, and flexibility in how households can apply. Experts have also stressed that suppliers should work with debt advice charities to ensure fair and consistent outcomes when implementing the scheme. A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented: “Energy debt is now driving people into dangerous financial positions as we approach the fifth winter of the energy bills crisis. Previous research has found that almost one in five households in energy debt have turned to illegal money lenders, with households waking each morning fearful of what using electricity or gas might cost them. “We must urgently write off arrears and reform the system so fewer households are powerless to pay off their debts.” Read on below. https://www.endfuelpoverty.org.uk/household-energy-debt-surges-to-4-43-billion/#:~:text=New%20Ofgem%20figures%20reveal%20that,in%20arrears%20they%20cannot%20escape. (fb)

HOUSING AND HEALTH Another shocking case stemming from the severe shortage of social rented housing - this family should never have been in private rented accommodation in the first place. From the article: A seriously ill child was left living in damp and mouldy accommodation miles away from their hospital because Lewisham Council left it too late to find their homeless family accommodation in the borough. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) found the vulnerable young child, who was immuno-compromised and required two years of hospital treatment, should have been placed in accommodation without any mould or damp issues, with no shared facilities and within the borough to be near to their hospital for treatment. However, despite the council’s own assessment detailing their needs, the council left the family in their private accommodation until a week before bailiffs evicted them, leaving too little time to find the family suitable accommodation. This left the child and their family placed in another borough, with damp and mould issues. The child’s nurses could no longer make their weekly visits and instead the child had to travel to hospital, putting them at further risk of harm. The family had been told by Lewisham to remain in their accommodation because the council’s policy stated it would not act until a week before bailiffs turned up. The council said it would deem them "intentionally homeless" if they moved before this time, and they would have no right to help. Alongside this, the family was facing court bills of more than £46 a day, which the council had been told about and which the family could not afford. The Ombudsman’s investigation found Lewisham took 13 months too long to provide the family with interim accommodation and criticised the council's handling of the family’s complaint. Amerdeep Somal, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “This kind of brinksmanship has placed a severely ill child at grave risk and compounded an already distressing situation by forcing the family to live with the threat of being physically removed from their home hanging over them. “The council has failed to grasp the seriousness of this case from start to finish and the family's situation was only made worse by the council's failure to provide suitable temporary accommodation or to properly respond to their complaints “This awful situation could have been avoided, and more suitable accommodation found sooner, had Lewisham not left it so late to act.” Somal added: “The council has agreed to end its flawed policy of leaving people facing homelessness in their property until the court grants a bailiff warrant. It will now assess and rectify the situation for others at risk of homelessness in the borough who are awaiting assistance. I hope this will now improve the outlook for people facing homelessness in Lewisham.” By way of remedy, the council has agreed to apologise and pay the family £9,440 to include the avoidable rent arrears the family paid, along with court costs, and avoidable distress and risk of harm. Lewisham will identify all open cases where an applicant who may be in priority need has remained beyond expiry of a section 21 eviction notice and assess and act on their cases appropriately. A Lewisham Council spokesperson said: “We have accepted all the recommendations made by the Ombudsman and will take forward the actions detailed. “We have also revised the policy which compounded the unacceptable delays in this case. “We have apologised to the resident affected and acknowledge that we fell well short of the service expected of us.” (fb)