Government
As Winter Looms, Britons Bank on Warming Hubs
Rising energy prices are forcing UK authorities to assemble a network of “warm banks” to offer relief from costly home heating bills. Here’s how they’ll work.
Smoke and steam rise from houses in London in January 2022.
Photographer: Leon Neal/Getty Images EuropeThe first rule for setting up a “warm bank”— a free heated indoor space for UK residents facing high energy bills this winter — is not to call it a warm bank.
The premise behind these spaces may be the same as that of a food bank, but term itself should be avoided, because of the potential stigma involved. “A warm space is a far more approachable place than a warm bank,” writes influential British moneysaving expert Martin Lewis, who commissioned and published a new British guide to setting up warming centers.