GOOD IDEA OR WOOLLY THINKING?
Minister is forced to deny that putting on a jumper will be official guidance
BRITONS will not be told to wear a woolly jumper this winter as part of official guidance to combat the energy price shock, ministers insisted last night.
The controversial advice was said to be part of a doomsday scenario plan from the Cabinet Office to help people cope with sky-high bills and, potentially, shortages.
And it came as retailers warned that gaps on supermarket shelves will worsen amid concerns a new visa regime for foreign HGV drivers and poultry workers is doomed.
A report published in The Sunday Times yesterday claimed that officials were looking at advising people to wear a jumper and turn down the central heating to survive the winter.
Fuel poverty campaigners were outraged at the idea, warning it failed to grasp the scale of the crisis and would leave millions facing a nightmare choice between heating and eating.
The Cabinet Office has since moved to deny the reports with a statement that ministers have ‘no plans’ for a campaign of this nature. However, at this stage, it is not known whether there was ever any such scheme or if it has been killed off for fear of triggering a public backlash.
Energy bills for around 15million households have surged by around £139 under Ofgem’s latest price cap – taking the average bill to £1,277.
However, further increases adding up to anything from £500 to £800 are said to be in the pipeline for next year.
Asked if Britons should don another jumper and pair of socks over the winter, Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng told Sky News: ‘It’s up to people. It’s amazing how different people’s cold thresholds can be very different.
‘Some people feel comfortable wrapped up in lots of different clothes, others wear relatively little... I think people should do what they feel comfortable with.’
When pressed to say if the Government will tell people to turn down their thermostat and wrap up warmer, he responded: ‘My job as an energy minister is not to tell people how many layers of clothing they should wear. That’s not really my job.’
The row piles further pressure on the Government this winter after it emerged visas will not be issued to foreign HGV drivers or poultry workers until the end of the month at the earliest.
The Government scheme, which was announced two weeks ago, will offer visas to 5,000 overseas HGV drivers and 5,500 poultry workers in an effort to ‘save Christmas’. Yet the scheme – which had only attracted 27 expressions of interest at the last count – is now under fire with warnings there will be a shortage of turkey, pigs in blankets and other fresh foods. Amid scenes of empty shelves and trolleys piled high with loo roll, Andrew Opie, of the British Retail Consortium, said the lack of drivers is the biggest threat to Christmas. He urged the Government to rapidly expand its visa scheme, adding: ‘Without action, millions of households across the country will face disruption.’ Yet a government source stressed that the food industry and others should be doing more to recruit, train and offer better pay to attract British workers.