A future where no household is left out in the cold

AgilityEco at the NEA Annual Conference | 14-16 September | Sheffield

Tomorrow I’ll be travelling to Sheffield to take part in the NEA’s annual conference. This year’s theme is Fuel Poverty: Our Vision for the Future and is based on the NEA’s vision for the future for the 4.5 million households who live in the misery of fuel poverty across the UK.

All talk at the moment is about the savage cuts in funding for energy efficiency and renewables in homes (withdrawal of support for GDFC which effectively ends the Green Deal, decimation of Feed-in Tariff support which effectively ends solar, likely to be followed by an announcement on RHI which will effectively kill renewable heating). But behind the scenes, the government has begun its process of consultation about future support. Amber Rudd has appointed Peter Bonfield to look at “all relevant schemes, standards and initiatives that impact on the delivery of domestic energy efficiency”. This is important work. The Conservative manifesto pledge is to “support low-cost measures on energy efficiency, with the goal of insulating a million more homes over the next five years, supporting our commitment to tackle fuel poverty.” This is an inherently problematic pledge. We have spent years supporting low-cost measures, with the result that the British public is sick to the teeth of free insulation offers and, although it may be controversial to say so, pretty much all available, suitable and willing households have had their homes insulated. But what then of the commitment to tackle fuel poverty? The problem is that, with all of this focus on low cost measures, millions of our poorest and most vulnerable have been left behind because of their property type, tenure or location.

That’s why I’m delighted to be joining a panel with four other speakers, discussing this very issue. The statistics speak for themselves:

•   8 million living in uninsulated solid wall properties that have never received support through successive funding schemes
•   4.4 million in the private rented sector where energy efficiency standards are dire and there’s little incentive for landlords to upgrade
•   71,000 park homes, where residents have generally been unable to access the Warm Home Discount or other support

Rural, off-gas grid homes, in some cases lacking central heating, have also been overlooked.

These are just a few examples of where “one size fits all” support, focused on low-cost measures, leaves millions of people literally out in the cold.

If the Conservative government really does have a commitment to tackle fuel poverty, it will need to support more innovative, diverse approaches. And it will need to support these approaches at scale.

My talk will focus on this need for innovation and diversity of approach to reach those that have not benefited in the past. I’m going to draw on AgilityEco’s experiences of working with the Private Rented Sector, for example through the Peterborough Green Deal Communities programme, as well as programmes to reach out to some of the most deprived without central heating, through the DECC Central Heating Fund. AgilityEco is also currently working on an exciting initiative for park homes, as well as some major projects in tower blocks and communal heating schemes.

To find out more, follow us on Twitter and we’ll post an update on the blog after the conference.

Photo: condesign by CC0

Search form