Fuel poverty (No. 2)

That this House notes that recent research from the Citizens Advice Bureau has identified that more than 2 million households are behind on their energy payments, with a quarter of all energy customers worried that they won’t be able to pay their bill this winter; further notes that before the pandemic 1 in 10 households in the UK were already living in fuel poverty; notes that during the last lockdown energy bills soared by an estimated 37 per cent, and that this lockdown they will likely go higher due to winter weather; further notes that children in low income families are faced with additional barriers to their education by studying in freezing homes as parents struggle with the financial burdens of round the clock fuel bills; and calls on the Government to offer immediate debt relief to all households most in need by extending the winter fuel payment to all families receiving Universal Credit and on furlough during the lockdown, and to commit to permanently extending the £20 Universal Credit uplift.