30 November 2011 - Cardiff Care & Repair Affordable Warmth Service

 28 November 2011

Cardiff Care & Repair receive over £215,000 boost to help alleviate fuel poverty for older people in Cardiff

 Care & Repair Cardiff have received £215,949 from The Big Lottery Fund

to enable them to deliver a new service aimed at alleviating fuel poverty for older people living in Cardiff. 

Fuel poverty is suffered by anyone who needs to spend 10% or more of their

income on energy in order to heat their home to an adequate level. Recent figures estimate that over 332,000 households are in fuel poverty in Wales.

 Fuel poverty has a significant impact on the health, social and economic well-being of older people.  As well as causing illness and making existing health conditions worse, inadequate warmth can affect physical dexterity and subsequently increase the risk of falls.

 There is also a link between fuel poverty and the number of excessive deaths among older people that occur in the winter months and a significant increase in the need to access hospital services. Accordingly to official figures, there were 1,900 ‘excess winter deaths’ in Wales last winter and many expect this figure to rise again this winter.

 Care & Repair Cardiff Agency Manager, Richard Thomas, said: ‘Older people are particularly vulnerable to the effects of fuel poverty. This situation is only likely to get worse as rising fuel prices continue to hit the most vulnerable the hardest. Some older people are often faced with extremely tough choices such as 'eat or heat'. We are really pleased that The Big Lottery Fund have granted us this funding award to help address some of these problems.’  

 Congratulating Care & Repair Cardiff on the successful bid to the Big Lottery Fund, Chris Jones, Managing Director of Care & Repair Cymru said: “This new, innovative service will make a real difference to the lives of many older people in Cardiff.  Not only will it give practical help and support to meet clients ever increasing energy bills, it will also help to give increased peace of mind to many older people who worry about paying their bills.”

 Care & Repair Cardiff’s Affordable Warmth Casework Service aims to help alleviate fuel poverty for 1,000 older people living in Cardiff over the next 3 years. The service will provide advice, support and assistance to older people regarding:

 potential repair and maintenance works that could be undertaken to improve the energy efficiency of their homes

• energy saving measures and tips that can be undertaken to use energy more efficiently within their home environment
• purchasing fuel and energy more appropriately
• increasing income by identifying any unclaimed benefits or potential annuities older people may be eligible for.

For more information please contact Helen Ball, CCHA’s Communications and PR Coordinator on 029 20 468427 or email helen.ball@ccha.org.uk.

Click here to view Case Study

 Editor’s notes

Care & Repair Cardiff is a not for profit agency that exists to support older people to carry out repairs, maintenance, improvements or adaptations to their homes. The Agency is funded by the Welsh Government and Cardiff Council and is hosted, funded and supported by Cardiff CommunityHousingAssociation.

 The Big Lottery Fund distributes half of the National Lottery good cause funding across the UK. The Fund aims to enable others to make real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need.