Nowadays, many  of the everyday services that we all need are provided by the private sector. This increases the likelihood of  what the NCC calls 'market-based exclusion', where disadvantaged communities, vulnerable consumers and people in rural areas are often not catered to. This gap highlights many critical elements of social exclusion.

At the moment there is no readily available national data on service provision, but we do know that many consumers are being left behind.

The NCC is contributing to the debate on essential services, both the nature and measurement of access to  them. We are working with providers to develop sustainable solutions to market-based exclusion, and exploring how further work can be developed to tackle barriers to access .

An insight into the lives of the forgotten working poor

The latest report from NCC, 'More snakes than ladders? an insight into the lives of the 'forgotten working poor', has shown five million low-income workers, who don’t claim benefits and don’t have dependent children living with them, are being forgotten by government and business.

The report was launched at a successful event in the House of Commons with guest speakers Minister of State for Work and Pensions Stephen Timms MP and Director of the Social Market Foundation Ann Rossiter. MPs came along to pledge their support for our campaign to prevent the exclusion of the forgotten working poor in the public and private sectors, and increase awareness of the social and economic contribution they make.

The launch takes place at a time when the rising costs of basics such as food and fuel, additional charges to access or pay-for essential services, as well as the credit crunch, are having a disproportionate effect on the forgotten working poor.

Click here for our press release

Click here for the report

Click here to view a video of the case studies.

Fuel poverty

Almost four million UK households - that's 5.5 million people - struggle to afford an adequate energy supply. They are victims of 'fuel poverty'. (Click here to view Cold comfort - a film of first-hand accounts of this daily struggle.)

Meanwhile, many UK households use unsustainably high amounts of gas and electricity. A third of the UK's total carbon emissions come from heating our homes and the water we use, but awareness of how our daily lives impact on the environment is low.

Conflicting though these challenges may appear, it is vital to develop policies that both help vulnerable groups stay warm affordably, and encourage those who over-consume energy to use it more wisely. The National Consumer Council proposes a blueprint for action - by government, the energy regulator (Ofgem) and energy supply companies - that has the potential to do just that.

Recommendations include smarter tariffs, innovative payment methods and adequate financial help.

Click here to download our blueprint for action, Energy shouldn't cost the Earth (122KB).

Click here to read our press release.