Eight ‘warm banks’ have opened across Birmingham for West Midlands residents as the cold winter approaches. The initiative has been confirmed by the Birmingham City Council as being part of their physical response to the cost-of-living crisis, which is seeing more families struggling financially with rising food prices and soaring energy bills.

Warm banks are safe spaces that have the heating on, where people who are unable to afford to heat their homes can go to get warm during the winter.

Warm banks are safe spaces that have the heating on

Birmingham City Council are hoping to open more warm banks by asking volunteer groups and community organisations to fill the ‘gap’ the local authority’s budget and resources will not fill.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) had first reported that the authority considered this plan two months ago as energy bills began to climb. This move has come as the Labour-led local authority moved £5 million from its financial resilience reserve (FRR) to help impacts of the cost-of-living emergency. Birmingham Live say that ‘it has reported a budget shortfall of £80 million.’

The Labour-led local authority moved £5 million from its financial resilience reserve (FRR) to help impacts of the cost-of-living emergency

This is on top of the £12.6 million household support fund, as well as the £1.3 million emergency top-up fund and the energy rebate scheme itself.

Birmingham and the West Midlands as a region has one of the highest fuel poverty rates in the country. Six Birmingham constituencies are part of the top 13 across England; they have 6.3 million homes in fuel poverty.

The council have confirmed that libraries across Birmingham would be open as usual, with facilities and activities available for people of all ages. As well as libraries, Beeches Pool and Fitness Centre, Northfield Leisure Centre and Ladywood Leisure Centre are open as warm spaces too, as well as many other places in the city.

A Libraries Connected survey from earlier this year found that nearly 60% of libraries are actively considering taking part in a warm bank scheme, yet, just 4% of library leaders expect to receive any extra funding for this activity. Jon Hunt, who is the leader of Birmingham Liberal Democrats, said that: ‘So far, we have mainly leisure centers that have been designated as warm spaces. By stretching the £5 million through small grants, they should enable volunteer groups to open premises across the city.’

Just 4% of library leaders expect to receive any extra funding for this activity

Peter Smith who is the director of policy and advocacy at National Energy Action (NEA) has also said that: ‘Warm banks or just warm, safe spaces could help protect the health of some of the most vulnerable people in our society over this coming winter. As well as keeping people from the shivering cold, they also provide an opportunity to give and receive energy, wider advice, and directly support people who might otherwise miss out on income support measures.’

He has said that local councils ‘should help to directly support these activities’ if ‘local councils, faith groups or other public and civic spaces are going to be ready to open their doors’.

Yet, he argued that the government ‘must also do more’ to help households who are struggling the most as it shouldn’t be up to communities to tackle the energy crisis.

‘We hope the new prime minister will recognise that the current average annual energy bill of £2,500 is totally unaffordable for most low-income households and urgency offer more direct support by reducing bills further or via more targeted income payments.’

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