Government Working to Keep Us Safe and Warm, Says PM

A gasometer is surrounded by houses on January 9 2010, in Bath. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged the UK's gas supplies will not run out during the current cold snap (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

LONDON—Gordon Brown said on Saturday that gas supplies would not run out and the elderly should not worry about turning their heating up.

The current cold spell has seen the demand for gas reach a record high. But, “I can assure you: supplies are not running out,” said the Prime Minister in a podcast.

“We’ve got plenty of gas, of course, in our own back yard—the North Sea—and we also have access to the large reserves in Norway and Netherlands via pipelines,” he said.

Cold weather payments of about £172 million have been paid to 3.5 million elderly and vulnerable people, Brown said, and payments of £25 have been made in advance of severe weather forecast for the next few days.

The automatic payments mean “no one should worry about turning up their heating,” he said.

Road salt will get to where it’s most needed, and councils are being encouraged to share supplies, said Brown.