The following table shows the number applications where (a) heating (b) insulation and (c) both heating and insulation measures were recommended in Felton and Heston in each of the last three years.
Measure received 2007-08 2008-09 2009-101 Total Insulation 62 122 83 267 Heating 96 57 68 221 Both 68 77 74 219 1 Up to 31 January 2010. Note: These figures may include those cases where a measure was recommended but not carried out. This may occur of variety of reasons, for instance, where the client chooses to have work carried out privately rather than wait for work to be carried out through the scheme.
Table 1 shows the amount of Warm Front scheme funding spent in Feltham and Heston in each year since its inception.
Table 2 shows the number of homes and amount of funding spent in Feltham and Heston by the Warm Front £300 rebate scheme (which provides assistance to households requiring boiler replacements or repairs for those over 60 and not receiving benefits which would give them access to the main Warm Front scheme) in each year since its inception.
Feltham and Heston £ 2001-02 17,569.35 2002-03 83,686.17 2003-04 101,036.17 2004-05 247,734.90 2005-06 194,810.70 2006-07 202,014.09 2007-08 313,567.20 2008-09 260,248.41 2009-101 371,699.28
Vouchers issued Funding (£) 2006-07 1 315.46 2007-08 66 20,449.32 2008-09 76 22,985.52 2009-10 83 22,414.84 1 To 7 February 2010.
The Government have a strong package of measures to help reduce fuel poverty among vulnerable households. This is centred on tackling the three root causes of fuel poverty:
(i) Reducing the demand for energy by improving home energy efficiency is encouraged through schemes such the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), the Community Energy Efficiency Fund (CEEF) and the Decent Homes Standard, in addition to the Warm Front scheme which continues to be the Government’s flagship scheme for tackling fuel poverty in the private household sector in England.
CERT requires energy suppliers to meet at least 40 per cent. of their obligation by promoting and installing measures in the homes of a Priority Group of vulnerable consumers in receipt of qualifying benefits or people aged over 70 years. Measures are only reported at a GB level and details for the work carried out in Feltham and Heston are therefore not available.
(ii) Putting in place and continuously looking to improve a regulatory framework that promotes competition as the main driver to ensure downward pressure on prices for consumers, and to improve licence conditions and strengthen Ofgem’s powers through the Energy Bill; and
(iii) Raising real incomes, including through winter fuel payments and cold weather payments alongside the wider tax and benefit system and through benefit entitlement checks under the Warm Front scheme.
We have also introduced legislation to implement mandated social price support schemes once the current voluntary agreement with suppliers comes to an end in 2011. These schemes will provide more of the most vulnerable consumers with help towards their energy costs. We have said that we are minded to focus the majority of the additional resources on older pensioner households on the lowest incomes.
As these households tend to have a high incidence of fuel poverty—over 50 per cent. of fuel poor households have a person over 60 living in them; their circumstances are relatively stable; and they are at the greatest risk of excess winter deaths.
The fuel poverty review which was announced in January 2009, has been looking across all three drivers of fuel poverty, and particularly the key issue of how we can more effectively identify and target assistance at the most vulnerable households.