00:00 "Certainly thinking about it a hell of a lot more than I used to do.
00:03 Yeah, along with the whole nation I'm sure. Yeah."
00:07 "Try to cut down a bit don't you?"
00:08 "You do, definitely."
00:09 "Try and put an extra jumper on instead of turning the heating on during the day."
00:13 "Absolutely, yeah, it's got to be done."
00:14 Energy bills are set to increase by £94 for millions of households across the UK
00:21 from January, it has been announced.
00:24 Energy regulator Ofgem has revealed its new price cap,
00:27 which will come into effect on 1 January, and shows bills for the average household
00:32 are set to increase. Consumer choice brand Witch says it is highly concerning that
00:37 millions of households will not be turning on their heating this year due to the rise in energy
00:42 bills. Data from the company shows lower income households and families with children are the
00:47 most likely to be left in the cold this winter. We asked people in Manchester if they're concerned
00:52 about the rise in energy bills and what that means for some people during the cold months.
00:57 "I've had to put the heating on and I'm dreading the bills, just dread it. Because the money I'm
01:02 saving up for now, I'm getting married, so I'm saving up for that so I can sit there in my
01:08 dressing gown, which I do many a time, buy thicker clothing, which I do. Nothing more I can do than
01:17 don't put it on and sometimes you've really got to put it on, but I'm saving up to get married so
01:24 I can't. From two and a half years ago, mine has more than doubled, more than doubled. I know I
01:34 get some help, a pensioner gets some help, without that I think I would have gone under with it,
01:41 but it's better than nothing. But you've still got to be very careful, whatever you do."
01:46 "Have you turned the heating on in your home yet?"
01:49 "We have, we have it for an hour in the morning and then in the evening it tends to warm up and
01:55 turns itself off, but we have recently been putting it on. I suppose we're fortunate because
02:02 when I retired I got a very good pension so we are quite fortunate financially,
02:08 because at the end of the day you can't be cold. I can imagine it must be very hard for lots of
02:16 people." "I think it's an essential and I'm lucky that I can afford to heat my home and I have got
02:21 a log burner, which I know now aren't so eco-friendly, but I'm lucky that I can afford it.
02:26 But I can appreciate if you can't afford it, it must be awful. It bothers me very much that elderly
02:31 people will be getting cold because if you're not moving around, sitting in one place, it must be
02:39 awful, terrible." "Have either of you turned on the heating in your home this year?" "Definitely, yes.
02:44 We're getting on, you know, immobile people and young children on low incomes,
02:54 very sympathetic towards them. I think they'll be making choices, won't they, between heating and
02:59 food?" "Yeah, definitely."
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