Introduction

Oldham MBC has an Affordable Warmth Strategy to tackle ‘Fuel Poverty’ within the borough.

Objectives and target audience

The Council’s Affordable Warmth Strategy is focused on working with a range of partners to reduce incidents of Fuel Poverty and to improve the energy efficiency of homes across the borough. The long-term strategic vision is: “Working together to eradicate fuel poverty in vulnerable groups by 2010.”
The target audience of this scheme are the ‘vulnerable groups’ in Oldham. At risk people include the elderly, children, the disabled and the economically disadvantaged. The commonly applied definition of a fuel poor household is one that needs to spend in excess of 10% of disposable income on heating. This means that approximately 18% of homes in Oldham are the victims of fuel poverty. This leads to around 155 excess winter deaths per annum.

Financial Resources and Partners involved

The project was initiated by Oldham MBC. Partners and organisations include Oldham Housing Investment Partnership, the NHS, the Energy Savings Trust, Age Concern and First Choice Homes.

Process

In late December 2003 a core team of OMBC Officers with assistance from ‘Energy Inform’ was setup to identify and agree a plan to make sure that all residents were given the opportunity to access energy efficiency assistance and advice. Oldham MBC (OMBC) was at the forefront of establishing an Energy Efficiency Advice Centre (EEAC) for North Manchester. After consultation workshops in 2004, a strategy was developed. This involved the development of a very successful multi-agency steering group led by OMBC’s Housing Strategy Section, in association with the other agencies outlined above. Each organisation pledged to carry out individual actions within their own organisations to tackle this problem.

Results

The Affordable Warmth Access Referral Mechanism (AWARM) was introduced. The scheme involved employees from the Council and partner organisations, being given training. Front line staff were trained to identify the causes and signs of fuel poverty and how to refer them to EEAC. So far, 170 staff have been trained in this referral system.
Under the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 (HECA) the Council is committed to reducing energy consumption in housing by 30% by 2010 and the promotion of affordable warmth initiatives will help ensure we meet these important goals.
FCHO became the first local authority housing organisation to use a unique package of funding to improve the heating systems in homes. There has been installation of high efficiency heat metering, heating controls, tank insulation jackets and pre-payment equipment for 615 households on a local district-heating scheme. The second phase of this work will see the remaining 465 homes benefiting from these measures.

Critical Success Factors / Challenges

A major challenge with tackling this issue is the country-wide economic situation and the rising cost of fuel. This means that more people are becoming at risk of Fuel Poverty. Critical to the success is ensuring that all at risk homes are assessed by trained staff and referred to the relevant organsiation. The knowledge that Oldham has gained could easily be transferred to other areas.