Don’t let ‘warm banks’ become as vital as food banks, Scottish charities urge

theguardian.com:

Scotland’s leading anti-poverty campaigners are urging councils and communities “not to repeat past mistakes” by allowing “warm banks” – for those unable to afford heating their homes over the winter months – to become as entrenched as food banks.

The plea was made in a joint statement from the Poverty Alliance, Trussell Trust Scotland and the Cyrenians that cautions that emergency responses to escalating fuel poverty, however well-intentioned, risk shifting the focus away from government responsibility to ensure all citizens are able to heat their homes.

The notion of warm banks first entered wider discussions about the cost of living crisis in July, when it was raised by the consumer rights campaigner Martin Lewis. He suggested libraries and other public buildings could become “the equivalent of ‘food banks’, where people who can’t afford heating are invited to spend their days at no cost with heating”.

Since then a number of councils across the UK, including in Bristol, Dundee and Aberdeen, have confirmed they are considering such measures. Last month Scotland’s largest local authority, Glasgow city council, voted unanimously for Green proposals to create a network of “welcome places”, which will offer welfare advice and refreshments as well as a warm, dry venue.

But those on the frontline of fuel poverty are worried these efforts – though intended as a last resort – could normalise the experience rather than challenging governments to act.

Peter Kelly, the director of the Poverty Alliance, told the Guardian: “Of course we appreciate why these warm spaces are being set up and they will be a lifeline for some, but it entrenches the idea that the welfare state is peripheral and contingent. Compare this to food banks – they