Badly insulated homes costing poorer families £250 a year, councils warn

Poorer families already suffering the worst of the cost of living squeeze are having to pay an extra £250 a year on fuel due to inadequate home insulation, councils say.

Three million households in fuel poverty in England are being slapped with the extra cost as heat escapes through the walls, roofs and windows of poorly insulated housing, Local Government Association (LGA) analysis revealed.

The national membership body, made up of 350 councils in England and Wales, has issued calls for a strengthening of efforts to ensure all fuel-poor homes are propely insulated.