Christmas Cheer?

Overall, 60,940 families, including 87,420 children, are expected to spend the festive period in emergency accommodation this year, according to the research – a 20 per cent rise on four years ago.

While thousands of refugees allowed to remain in Britain will be destitute this Christmas. According to the Red Cross it can take nearly three months for refugees to receive benefits and the system is an ‘ordeal’.

More than one million families in the UK have difficulties keeping their homes warm as they cannot afford energy costs according to areport.  A total number of 1,027,000 families cannot afford to heat their homes, of which 348,000 are single-parent families. A combination of soaring energy costs and the squeeze on benefits is viewed as the main reason behind the fuel poverty in Britain. This is while many families have not experienced any rise in their wages and the cuts on tax credits and other benefits are putting them under huge financial pressure.

The new report also shows that 25 percent of households in Scotland and 29 percent in Wales were categorized as fuel poor in 2011. The Scottish House Conditions Survey also show 42 percent of households in Dundee are living on a lower income in a home which cannot be kept warm at reasonable cost.

Almost one in five English families with children is grappling with fuel poverty. The average gap between the family’s energy bill and what it can afford is estimated to be around £400.