Warm banks to open across UK in days with Britons already struggling to afford heating
Community centres and independent businesses across the UK will open up as free warm spaces within a matter of days in a sign the cost of living crisis “is far from over”, charities have said.
The long spell of unseasonably warm weather in the UK came to an abrupt end last week as temperatures plummeted and Storm Babet moved in.
With more cold weather looming, concern is growing among campaign groups that households in poverty in the UK face a worse energy bills crisis than last year.
More than 12,000 warm banks – including libraries, churches, cafes and community centres – were used by millions of Britons last winter in response to rising energy prices that worsened the UK’s cost of living crisis.
The scheme was set up by local councils, charities and partner organisations to allow people who could not afford to turn the heating on at home to spend time in a warm environment for free.
With average energy bills nearly double what they were three years ago despite a drop in Ofgem’s price cap at the start of October, organisations told i they are planning to open up as warm spaces next week to help families on half term.
International children’s charity Save the Children described the return as “damning proof” that the cost of living crisis “is far from over”, adding that struggling families need a more permanent solution.
According to the Gordon Brown-backed Warm Welcome Campaign, whose group of more than 7,000 warm spaces received nearly two and a half million combined visits last winter, over 14.4 million people live in poverty in the UK and will struggle to pay energy bills this winter.
Manchester-based debt advisory service Money Wellness plans to open its offices in Trafford as a “warm space” in the coming days.
Sebrina McCullough, head of external affairs at the group, told i that between the group’s offices and visitor centre, there could be space for around 50 people, with hot drinks, food, seating and charging points for electronic devices provided.
“It’s something I think all businesses should consider, opening up their warm spaces and giving something back to our local community,” Ms McCullough said.
“The cost of living crisis is biting hard and it’s affecting all of us. People need to know that they’re not alone, and what better way for businesses to show their support for local communities than to open their doors and let them benefit from heat, warmth, use of electronic chargers and things like that.”
Acknowledging that upcoming school holidays could place an additional burden on families to provide extra meals and have their heating on for longer during the day, she added: “The cost of energy, whilst it is coming down, is still significantly higher than it has been for a very long time and families are feeling the impact of that.
“We’re certain that there are families in our own community that will be scared to switch that dial, so if we can help, we absolutely want to do that.”
For some, warm banks are about much more than just warmth alone.
“We want to be the space where the community can connect with what’s going on in the city,” said Becki Simmons, the founder of SPARK Community Centre.
SPARK, a charity in Portsmouth that Ms Simmons describes as a “pay what you can afford cuppa and cake space”, will be one of several sites to open its doors as a “warm space” over the winter.
As well as offering drinks and cakes at whatever price their customers can afford, Ms Simmons told i that SPARK’s top priority is to get locals out of their homes and mingling with other members of their community – particularly during dark, cold and often lonesome winter months.
SPARK also offers activities and a weekly “awareness day”, which has featured ADHD and menopause clinics, run by other local organisations in their 2,500 square foot, wheelchair accessible venue.
The centre’s site, located at The Pompey Centre in Portsmouth, opened in April and will operate as a warm bank in partnership with Portsmouth City Council’s “Warm Spaces, Welcome Places” initiative, headed up by city council project manager Kate Walsh.
Ms Walsh said that although most interest in accessing the city’s warm spaces that were provided last winter typically came in the weeks and months after Christmas, this year’s initiative should launch at the end of this month. It will also include all of the city’s libraries and museums.
Becca Lyon, head of child poverty at Save the Children UK, said: “Communities and charities across the country are preparing once again to provide warm spaces to help people through another tough winter [who are] struggling to pay their energy bills. However, what families need is a permanent solution to this crisis.
“Low-income families who are claiming Universal Credit, particularly those with more than two children, have been hit hardest and continue to struggle the most – and yet the UK government is considering cutting the benefits of those already pushed to the brink.
“This is why Save the Children, Trussell Trust, The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Action for Children, Citizen’s Advice and The Children’s Society this week wrote to Conservative MPs calling on them to demand the Chancellor do the right thing and increase benefits at least in line with September’s inflation figure at the Autumn Statement. It’s the bare minimum that families need and deserve.”
Campaigns and city councils join forces to provide ‘warm havens’
Despite declaring itself effectively bankrupt last month, Birmingham City Council confirmed to i that it still has over 240 “Warm Welcome spaces”, with more expected to open over the coming months.
A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council added: “Warm Welcomes are open all year around as they aren’t just about keeping warm, but also bringing people closer together across a range of different community settings.”
Libraries Connected – a partner charity of the Warm Welcome Campaign, whose members comprise the 148 library services (and more than 3,000 individual libraries) in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies – said that 93 per cent of respondents to a recent survey confirmed they would be taking part in the scheme this winter.
James Gray, Advocacy Manager at Libraries Connected, said that marked an increase on the 60 per cent of library services who were “actively considering” taking part in a warm spaces scheme in September 2022, with more time afforded to plan logistics and offer additional activities and support this time around.
“Warm spaces will be located wherever libraries are, so all over the country – on city centres, high streets, housing estates and rural communities,” Mr Gray added.
All 10 libraries in the London borough of Newham are set to open as warm banks, with Newham Council confirming it would provide funding through its Warm Haven Grants programme to help volunteer, community and faith organisations provide similar offerings of their own as well as activities and free hot drinks at council-run sites.
The grant programme would reportedly provide funding of up to £2,000 for local groups to that end, as well as up to £300 for ‘Winter Warmer’ events aimed at bringing people together over the winter.
The Council added that funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) would allow libraries to open for an an additional 92 hours per week between November and March – a period that saw the borough’s libraries receive half a million visits last winter.
According to a recent press release from Libraries Connected, warm spaces will begin to open their doors when clocks go back on 29 October.
