A BRADFORD MP has urged the Government to do more to help the 28,000 families in the city that are struggling to pay energy bills.

Judith Cummins challenged the Energy Secretary Amber Rudd and said more should be done to help hard-up families with "increasingly unaffordable" power costs.

The Bradford South Labour MP said there were an estimated 28,724 households in Bradford that are classified as "fuel poor".

Addressing Mrs Rudd in the Commons, Mrs Cummins said: "With the withdrawal of Government funding for the Green Deal Finance Company, it is now even harder for over-stretched families to afford energy efficiency schemes in their homes.

"With poor quality housing stock too often leaving families in fuel poverty, what funding does she plan to introduce to help families save money on their increasingly unaffordable energy bills?"

Speaking outside the chamber, Mrs Cummins added: "With the cold winter weather beginning to bite, I wanted to challenge the Government to recognise the sheer scale of fuel poverty in our communities and the impact of withdrawing government funding for the Green Deal Finance Company. It's made it even harder for over-stretched families to afford energy efficiency schemes in their homes.

"It's outrageous that nearly 30,000 families in Bradford are struggling to cope with their energy costs. The Government can and must do more to help people reduce their energy bills.

"The Government's proposed cuts to Tax Credits could tip thousands of working families in Bradford over the edge, as they are already struggling to make ends meet. This could result in even higher levels of fuel poverty in the future."

A spokesman for the Department for Energy and Climate Change, said that in September a total of £25 million in funding was announced to help people living off the gas grid. The spokesman also referenced schemes such as Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Winter Payment, and added: "Keeping bills down for hardworking families is a priority and we are taking action to support those who need it the most.

"Improving the energy efficiency of people's homes is one of the ways we can help to tackle fuel poverty. As part of this we're supporting schemes like the Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Winter Payment, delivering vital financial support to vulnerable households."

Research released yesterday by national charity Turn2us claimed that one in two low income households are struggling to afford energy costs, despite being in work.

It said nearly half have done so for more than a year, with a third forced to skip meals and over a fifth experiencing stress and other mental health problems.

Simon Hopkins, chief executive of Turn2us, said: "Our research paints a startling picture, revealing the extent to which households are struggling to heat their homes, even though they're in work. It is clear that more needs to be done to help raise awareness of the financial support and other help available to people on low incomes to help them manage their energy costs."