In Burnley, high levels of poverty and poor home energy efficiency make the financial struggle acute
Jane* is a mother-of-three who works up to 30 hours a week as a housekeeper. Her oven is turned off at the wall, and for the past few months she has been using a slow cooker to make dinner because she can no longer afford the gas bill. Every night she turns off the wifi and makes sure nothing is left on standby.
She lives in Burnley, Lancashire, which is the place with the highest inflation rate in England at 11.5%, according to the Centre for Cities thinktank. Its latest report found that people in the Lancashire town have been harder hit by the energy crisis because of high poverty levels, poor home energy efficiency and greater reliance on private car use. Energy costs account for about 6% of average wages in Burnley, compared with 3% in London.
