Warm bank visits could be a winter reality for millions of Britons

While these efforts are commendable and clearly vital, the fact that warm banks are needed at all is shocking.

It seems incredibly dystopian that in the UK – one of the world’s richest nations – and in 2022, millions of people will be forced to seek refuge in museums, libraries, and other NHS buildings in order to stay warm.

This sentiment is shared, with representatives from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition saying that normalising the need for warm banks should not become part of our reality.

The organisation believes that governments have a responsibility to invest in long term solutions to solve fuel poverty.

This would include ramping up access to renewables and weaning off of fossil fuels, as prolonged reliance on oil and gas has enabled the current crisis to occur.

In Aberdeen, Birmingham, and Bristol, local authorities have promised their residents that warm banks will be opening from October. These warm banks are expected to offer hot drinks, charging ports for electronic devices, Wi-Fi access, computers, as well as food.

Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees said, ‘it almost sounds like wartime but we’ll be working with community organisations and partners around the city to set up warm places that people can go to if they need to, come the autumn.’