Many low income families find themselves unable to pay for fuel. How can a civilised society sanction cutting off this vital resource, asks Barbara Montoute.

Being poor in Britain today often means having no money to pay for fuel. What help is available to people who find themselves in this situation?

How can we claim to live in a civilised society when utility companies can legally disconnect the fuel supply of a family with a newborn baby?

The majority of people who are unable to pay for fuel are living on a low income. Their situation may be exacerbated by bad housing, ill-health or disability, where they live, inadequate or non-existent insulation, and expensive or inefficient heating systems.

People in this situation often have little or no control over these factors. Low income households spend a significantly higher proportion of their income on fuel than the national average and, consequently, they are also disproportionately disadvantaged by the impact of VAT on domestic fuel.

Measured by either of the two most common definitions, one quarter of the UK's population is living in poverty. That is nearly 14 million people.

What do we mean by "poverty"? Well, a single householder aged between 18 and 25, and receiving benefit, receives £39.85 per week, while a couple, with two children under 11, receives Income Support of £124.65 per week. This is not their disposable income. From this they must buy food, clothes, shoes and toiletries, pay for gas, electricity, water rates and furnish their home.

What help is available to people in this situation? Virtually none. One of our clients, who is a 75-year-old widow, had to have her gas and electricity supplies disconnected for safety reasons. Her gas supply was leaking carbon-monoxide into her living room and bathroom, and the electricity provider said her electricity supply was the most dangerous it had ever encountered. She had no lights, no cooking facilities, no hot water and no heating.

Although she was receiving benefits, the Benefits Agency refused to help. It is not obliged to help. Social Fund grants and loans are discretionary, and there is no right of appeal. Even if the money was available, under renovation grant procedures it would take the local authority at least six months to remedy the faults.

Low income households are most likely to pay their bills via a pre-payment meter. This leads to injustice for many people, particularly those who are sick or disabled, carers and people with mental health problems or learning difficulties.

Paying through a pre-payment meter incurs a higher tariff, added to which are the extra costs of travelling to charging outlets. When money is tight, families whose fuel supply is dependent on these meters simply do without.

This is what happened to Lucy, aged five and Natalie, aged three. They died in a house fire which started in their bedroom, where safety candles were in use because there was no electricity supply. The family had used candles for two years whenever they had no money to purchase tokens for their meter.

Max also died in a house fire - he was eight. Like Lucy and Natalie, there was no electricity supply in his house. He was scared of the dark, so he had a candle in his bedroom. The pre-payment meter had run out of cards and the emergency credit had been used. Pre-payment meters are on the increase, like poverty. Do we live in a civilised society?

Barbara Montoute is an advocate with the Community Technical Services Agency, an independent advice agency funded by Liverpool Council