Fire risk of switching to candles
Cash-strapped families have been warned against using candles to light their homes, writes Matthew Davis.
With one in every 50 fires caused by candles last year, authorities are worried the number could climb as households strike a match in a bid to control soaring energy bills.
One fire brigade has warned that this could “pose significant fire safety risks”.
West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said they had already attended several incidents caused by candles being used as a source of heat and light this month.
It comes as an analysis of national statistics found there had been 9,580 house fires caused by candles since 2011 in England, injuring 3,369 people and killing 99 over the space of a decade.
Nicki Peddle, head of prevention at West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, said: “If you’re thinking about saving money, please don’t compromise your safety in doing so.” all see that when 40 to 50 per cent of a tank of fuel is tax, that cutting the tax would make an immediate difference to the hole in our pockets.
“Meanwhile, more than half of us know that taxing the people who could get our bills down long-term, by investing in British oil and gas, won’t help at all. The public get it, why doesn’t Boris?”
Howard Cox, founder of the Fairfuel UK campaign, claimed the Treasury is “wallowing in a VAT bonanza because of the record crippling pump prices”.
He continued: “So there is room to give the world’s highest taxed drivers a double-digit cut in the levy”.
But Nigel Humphries, spokesman for the Alliance of British Drivers, said a cut in fuel duty, rather than VAT, was a more realistic option.
He said: “They should be suspending the green levy on home energy bills and bring in a temporary cut in fuel duty to help people through this. It’s a no brainer.
“The Government is coining it in. For anyone who is not wealthy, it’s absolutely slaughtering household budgets. If people stop doing things because of high fuel and energy prices, it’s going to tip the economy into recession.”
The Treasury denies it has enjoyed a VAT windfall, arguing that the Office for Budgetary Responsibility has revised down forecast receipts for this year.
Any increases in VAT receipts from fuel are expected to be largely offset by lower income from other items if households have less cash to spend.
A Government spokesman said: “We understand people are struggling with rising prices which is why we have acted to protect the eight million most vulnerable British families through at least £1,200 of direct payments with additional support for pensioners and those claiming disability benefits. Through our £37billion support package we are also saving the typical employee over £330 a year through a tax cut in July, allowing people on Universal Credit to keep £1,000 more of what they earn and cutting fuel duty by 5p, saving a typical family £100.”
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has written to fuel retailers to stress the cut in fuel duty should be reflected in the price people pay at the pumps.
Options are being explored to ensure companies are transparent and motorists are not overcharged.
In a further sign of the public’s appetite for bold measures to help those struggling with the cost of
living, polling by Techne showed that 54 per cent suggest “foreign aid be reduced and diverted to help pay for the energy bills of the least well off in the UK,” with 43 per
cent opposed.