Help for people struggling with high home energy bills was announced by the Chancellor in the Pre-Budget Report, with additional Warm Front funding of £100 million, and £50 million of existing allocation to be spent a year sooner than planned.

This comes alongside other environmental measures which have been announced in the Pre-Budget Report, including extended support for renewable energy and investment in railways, flood defences and British waterways.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said: "We want the most vulnerable homes to have the heating and insulation improvements they need as quickly as possible. We will be investing a further £100 million in Warm Front and bringing forward £50 million funding by one year. A year can make a big difference in terms of comfort and financial savings, so bringing spending forward is the right thing to do. The new funding will also help protect jobs in the construction industry."


The Government also made clear it is working with Warm Front to ensure it operates as effectively as possible, in particular making sure it gets maximum value for money and is targeted effectively at those most in need.

The vast majority of customers have expressed satisfaction with the service they've received, but there have been a small number of cases where vulnerable or elderly people have not had a good service.

Mr Miliband added: "While Warm Front has helped lift thousands of households out of fuel poverty, there is always room for improvement. We are working to ensure that Warm Front provides the best service it can in the most cost-effective way."

Warm Front is the Government's major fuel poverty programme, providing home heating and energy efficiency improvements to vulnerable and low income households. Since its introduction in 2000 the scheme has helped 1.8 million households, saving them an average of £300 a year on energy bills.

The new funding brings the total funding for fuel poverty to £974 million for the three years to March 2011, and means that an additional 60,000 homes can benefit. This is in addition to the £910 million in funding the Government has secured from energy companies to make homes warmer and more energy efficient.

(CD/JM)