Issue - meetings

To receive an update on the Affordable Warmth Strategy Update.

The Cabinet Member: Homes, Enforcement & Customer Services presented the Affordable Warmth Strategy update which aimed to address fuel poverty in the borough and the improve the health and wellbeing of vulnerable people in the community.

It was widely recognised that being cold at home could cause or worsen health problems and there was a clear link to mental health and social isolation.  There had been a dramatic increase in the cost of energy prices and the resultant cost of living crisis meant that more households were threatened with fuel poverty.

During the last 12 months, the council had retrofitted 175 properties and approval has been granted for a further 104.  It has supported 126 private rented properties suffering from cold, damp and mould.  Eco grants had been issued to 79 businesses to reduce their energy costs and help them become more sustainable.    The council had also supported residents to look for external funding from hardship funds and provide contacts to partners in order to provide them with consistent, up to date advice.

In partnership with the Marches Energy Agency the council was supporting the Future Ready Homes initiative. The council were the only local authority regionally who offer an emergency boiler fund to vulnerable residents who had a cold related illness and no form of heating.    A sum of £500,000 had been used from the Climate Fund for the coldest homes and business grants. Warm and Well Telford had been launched as part of the Climate Change programme and 50 applications had been received to date. 

Over the next 12 months, the council would deliver the next phase of the Home Upgrade Grant aimed at low energy efficient off gas properties.  The Home Upgrade Grant was doing an excellent job of easing poverty in cold homes.  It was hoped that by introducing clear energy by 2030 that fuel poverty would be cut.

Members welcomed the report and were delighted that the Labour government were addressing energy price shocks with 4.29% of households in fuel poverty.  The Warm Homes national plan aimed to reduce fuel poverty and it was hoped to produce home grown energy from renewable sources.   The Council had delivered over £1m retrofit programme to improve insulation and make homes energy efficient.  It had been recognised that there were a group that sat outside the scope of the grant schemes and who were also in fuel poverty and the funding from the Climate Change agenda had been set aside to alleviate this.  They were pleased with the work undertaken with self-funders who wished to make their homes more energy efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable by navigating them around the services available.  Joint working across the council, making available business grants and employing local contractors, would help to sustain the local economy.

The Leader of the Conservative Group felt that the ambition of the council for people to be able to live with a measure of warmth in the winter was a noble and civil ambition.  Being cold has an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7