Cost of living: what are ‘warm banks’ and where could they open in the UK?

More and more local governments are starting create warm banks to support communities
Rachael Davies2 September 2022

After Ofgem announced an 80 per cent energy price cap increase, most households can expect to pay about £1,570 more a year for gas and electricity.

The jump reflects rising wholesale energy costs for suppliers caused by a number of factors including the Russia-Ukraine conflict reducing gas exports to Europe.

Most Londoners are on a variable price contract, set at about £1,971 a year for an average household paying by direct debit. This is set to increase to £3,549 a year from October.

The Government has outlined plans to support British households, including a £400 energy bills discount to be automatically applied in monthly instalments.

Some councils have adopted a new initiative: warm banks. Here’s a look at what they are and where they might be implemented in the UK.

What is a warm bank?

Similarly to how community food banks hand out supplies to low-income families, so-called warm banks will give those unable to afford the rising cost of heating their homes somewhere to go once the weather turns.

With many households expecting to have to make difficult choices about bills this winter, there are concerns that the cold months could be a health risk or even fatal to vulnerable groups if they can’t afford heating.

An Age UK study found that 250,000 older people died from the cold between 2006 and 2016, amounting to one person every seven minutes on average.

Over the past 60 years, the charity estimates there have been 2.5 million avoidable deaths in England and Wales due to cold weather. During winter, people not being able to warm their homes can pose a serious risk to the very young, elderly or infirm.

Where could warm banks open in the UK?

Bristol and Gateshead were reportedly already planning warm banks as early as July and now more areas of the country are joining in.

Now London, Birmingham, Dundee, Glasgow, and Aberdeen councils are among those looking into providing similar schemes, as well as officials in Southend-on-Sea in Essex, Sheffield in South Yorkshire and several regions in Nottinghamshire.

Libraries, art galleries, community centres and places of worship are all potential buildings that could be used as warm banks at certain times of day.

In Birmingham, the UK’s biggest council area, Councillor John Cotton, cabinet member at the Labour-run local authority, told the London Economic: “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.”

“It should not be the case that people cannot afford to keep their homes warm, but that is the reality we are facing here in Birmingham.”

MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis is another prominent figure discussing warm banks, tweeting: “Can’t believe I’m writing this, but I wonder if this winter well need ‘warm banks’ the equivalent of ‘food banks’ where people who can’t afford heating are invited to spend their days at no cost with heating (eg libraries, public buildings)?”

The Government has continued to maintain that policies are on the way to help people in need during the colder winter months.

“Those are initiatives put forward by local councils that are for them,” said Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport minister Matt Warman when asked about warm banks by LBC Radio.

“What the Government has to do and has done up to this point and will continue to do in the future is make sure that people have got the resources to heat their own homes.

“Those initiatives that are put forward, I think, will be welcome to some people. Of course they will be. But what the Government is doing and will continue to do is focusing on giving people the resources they need in their own homes, rather than having to leave them.”

“Welcome though these initiatives might be for some people, they’re not going to be the only option. They shouldn’t be the only option… I’m confident that the package of help that’s there and the package of help… (from the next prime minister) will make real progress in that regard.”

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