- As winter ends, National Energy Action’s¹ Warm Homes, Healthy Futures helps thousands across the country to stay warm and healthy at home
- National Energy Action polling of programme clients finds that 50% found they no longer turned their heating down, or off, all the time due to worries over cost
- The tightening of PIP (Personal Independence Payment) announced this week
- The programme partners with other organisations such as Beat the Cold and Barnsley Council to support innovative projects
An innovative new programme to link energy help schemes with healthcare providers has now helped more than 2,000 people in the UK, as well as training 200 frontline professionals.
As we reach the end of winter [with spring beginning today – Thursday 20 March], and with the tightening of PIP (Personal Independence Payment) eligibility on the horizon, fuel poverty charity National Energy Action’s Warm Homes, Healthy Futures programme has been working with organisations across the country to support households with their energy bills.
Funded by the Vulnerability and Carbon Monoxide Allowance (VCMA), Warm Homes, Healthy Futures is a multi-year nationwide programme that connects health professionals and local public health bodies to energy advice and other specialist support services.
Since September 2024, specialist energy and benefits teams working with Warm Homes, Healthy Futures have helped more than 2,000 people in the UK, as well as speaking to over 1,500 people at more than 200 community events. They have trained 200 frontline professionals on the health risks of cold homes and carbon monoxide safety.
A National Energy Action survey² of clients found that prior to accessing the service, 90.2% of households could not keep their homes warm when they needed or wanted to, compared to 65.6% after. And 50% found they no longer turned their heating down, or off, all the time due to worries over cost, and 28% no longer limit which rooms they heat in their homes. Just over a third reported no longer always using blankets, coats, hot water bottles or other items to keep warm instead of their heating.
Warm Homes, Healthy Futures focuses on the link between health conditions and fuel poverty. Recent polling with YouGov³ of adults in GB found that 49% of all respondents said they were likely to ration their energy use in the three months following polling. But, those with certain health conditions were more likely to expect to ration their heating:
- Arthritis (62%)
- Asthma (58%)
- Heart condition (57%)
- Mental health condition (58%)
Dr Danielle Butler, Project Development Manager at National Energy Action, said: ‘The enthusiasm from energy, housing and health professionals has been incredible in building this network. We’re thrilled that the Warm Homes, Healthy Futures programme is now delivering vital support, helping to create safer, warmer, and healthier homes while strengthening collaboration to tackle fuel poverty and health inequalities.’
Beat the Cold
Warm Homes, Healthy Futures partnerships have supported households in more than 50 different places in England, Scotland and Wales. It has supported organisations such as Beat the Cold, a fuel poverty charity operating across Staffordshire.
Having successfully delivered a pilot last summer which focused on utilising One Health and Care digital shared care records to reach patients with asthma, the funding through Warm Homes, Healthy Futures has enabled Beat the Cold to use this approach to reach over 1,000 new patients. This is a partnership between National Energy Action, Beat the Cold, North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust, Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care System, Moorcroft, and Moss Green primary care centres situated in areas of high deprivation. Using a fuel poverty digital dashboard, the GP surgery can find patients most at risk and share the data with Beat the Cold, who then make outbound contact.
Beat the Cold’s Chief Executive, Fiona Miller, shared, ‘By using data targeting and reaching out directly, not only are we able to support key vulnerabilities, but we are also able to find those patients who wouldn’t typically engage with services though in fact benefit hugely from support. This is revolutionary in community-based intervention, and we hope to use our work as a model for other services to replicate. We are thrilled to bring together this project with the support of National Energy Action’s Warm Homes, Healthy Futures and are grateful to all key partners for enabling the innovation to be realised. We look forward to seeing the continued impact over time.’
Barnsley Council
Barnsley Council has received almost £250,000 of funding from National Energy Action to participate in Warm Homes, Healthy Futures. The scheme, which will run until 2026, aims to engage with hundreds of residents who have health conditions made worse by the cold, including COPD, asthma, depression and heart disease.
It is open to residents across Barnsley, with the council’s Warm Homes team working with GP practices, hospitals and social care teams to deal with responses and provide case-worker support to the most vulnerable residents to live in warm homes.
Energy efficiency advice will be given along with help to apply for grants for heating and insulation, signposting to other services and local organisations and a free carbon dioxide monitor. Referrals will also be made into National Energy Action by the Warm Homes team to provide benefit checks and income maximisation.
Councillor Robin Franklin, Cabinet spokesperson for Regeneration and Culture, said: ‘This funding from National Energy Action will supplement our existing Warm Homes offer, providing a flexible delivery model which will allow us to respond to local gaps and needs, targeting those who most need our help. It will also connect the health and social care sectors to energy advice and support to help people stay warm, safe and healthy at home.’
Client case studies
‘The lady we had went above and beyond to help us, finding a cooker for us so I can now make meals for my family cheaply and quickly, she also helped us contact people like my electric supplier and payplan who helped me budget the debts we had and now we’re not receiving threatening letters.’
– Warm Homes, Healthy Futures client
‘With the support you gave me had my heating on at least six hours a day instead of an hour’.
– Warm Homes, Healthy Futures client
ENDS
Notes to editors
- National Energy Action (NEA), is the national fuel poverty charity, working across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to improve the lives of people in fuel poverty. We directly support people with energy and income maximisation advice, and we advocate on issues such as the current energy crisis and the need to improve the energy efficiency of our homes. See: www.nea.org.uk/.
- Sample size up to 28/01/2025 is 61. The sample is designed to capture feedback from clients monthly, with a sample drawn on the first Monday of the month. The sample consists of those who received advice between the first day of two months ago to the 28th day of last month before the sample is drawn. Therefore, the data captured so far contains data up to the end of January. The ongoing impact reporting is cumulative and so results reported will naturally change on a monthly basis.
- All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,266 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 15 – 16 January 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
- The Vulnerability and Carbon Monoxide Allowance (VCMA) is a £170 million fund introduced by Ofgem for the 2021-2026 period, allocated to the four Gas Distribution Networks (GDNs) in Great Britain. This funding supports projects aimed at helping vulnerable consumers and addressing carbon monoxide safety issues. Each GDN invests in initiatives that enhance the safety, health, and well-being of vulnerable customers, with at least 25% of the funding dedicated to collaborative efforts with partners and organisations.