Scotland has unveiled plans to open warm banks across the country to help those unable to heat their homes keep warm as it’s warned thousands could go cold due to skyrocketing energy prices.
The move, which was voted for unanimously by local councils, comes amidst growing concern that vital support for the most vulnerable could be pulled next year when the energy price cap freeze ends 18 months earlier than planned.
In this blog, we’ll explain what warm banks are and why thousands more are expected to open their doors in the coming weeks.
What are warm banks?
According to National Energy Action, over 10,000 people die a preventable death every year as a result of living in a cold home and this number is on the rise due to the rising cost of living.
This has led to warm banks, or warm spaces, being set up in libraries, town halls and community centres up and down the country for people struggling to heat their home.
The term first gained popularity earlier this year when financial journalist, Martin Lewis, posted: “Can’t believe I’m writing this, but I wonder if this winter we’ll 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)?”
But with inflation back to a record-breaking 10.1% and energy bills still 54% more expensive than they were this time last year, it’s become clear that warm banks are needed to keep the country’s most vulnerable warm over the next few months.
Why are warm banks opening?
The introduction of warm banks comes after it was revealed annual energy bills in the UK would soar to £2,500 for the average household. This is still less than what annual energy bills would have increased to had the energy price cap freeze not come into force but, for most people, it’s still more than double what they were paying at the start of this year.
The rising cost of living – which has already seen people with no history of financial problems falling into fuel poverty – has also had a massive impact on the need for warm banks with millions of people being forced to choose between heating and eating as costs continue to soar.
However, charities have insisted that warm banks are only a short-term solution to the ongoing cost of living crisis and that we simply shouldn’t allow the situation to get to a point where these spaces are normalised in the same way as food banks are.
How many warm banks will open?
There could be thousands of warm banks opening throughout the country over the next few months with over 1,600 organisations already registered with the Warm Welcome campaign – an initiative set up to help people struggling with their energy bills find a place to keep warm in their local area.
The website includes a virtual map of warm banks with several already open in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Dundee and Edinburgh and hundreds more expected to crop up in the coming months as the word spreads.
However, with as much as 216 already open across the country, there are fears that this figure could match the number of food banks within a matter of months.
How have people responded to warm banks?
Since it was revealed that warm banks would be opening throughout the country, the response has, understandably, been mixed.
Whilst most people agree that warm banks, as a whole, are needed during the ongoing cost of living crisis, the general consensus is that the focus should be on keeping people warm within their own homes as opposed to going outside to find somewhere to keep warm.
There is also concern that people could become over-dependent on warm banks which were originally designed to provide short-term emergency support whilst energy bills are at a 40-year high.
