16th January 2012 - Working to reduce fuel poverty for Older People in Wales - Edwina Hart AM visits Care & Repair Client for Big Energy Week

Edwina Hart AM visits Care & Repair client for Big Energy Week  

 Today marks the start of Big Energy Week and Care & Repair Agencies across Wales will be taking part to ensure Older People in Wales can afford to remain living in a home that is warm and suitable for their needs.  

 The 22 Care & Repair agencies in Wales last year assisted 1,953 older people with specific help to combat fuel poverty and helped 1,074 clients maximise their incomes by a total of over £2million by carrying out Welfare benefit checks.

 Care & Repair has also been facilitating a scheme called ‘Health Through Warmth’, funded by Npower. The £50k fund was set up to help older people whose health is made worse by cold and damp living conditions and who don’t have adequate heating and insulation. During the pilot (June to December 2011), Care & Repair helped an additional 40 clients across Wales and used this funding to pull in an additional £40k from other sources such as charities and trusts. The funding was used to pay toward heating and insulation measures for older people with 65% of clients helped with their central heating boilers repaired or replaced.

 Ms Brice, 80, from Cardiff suffers from pulmonary fibrosis and arthritis and the cold makes these conditions worse. The central heating boiler in her home was thirty years old and not only was it inefficient but was constantly breaking down. Mrs Brice had no savings and was unable to replace the boiler herself. She was in receipt of pension credit and disability benefit.

 Ms Brice said: “The full cost of a replacement boiler was over £3000.  I contacted Care & Repair to see if they could help but never thought they would be able to raise the money I needed. They sent a member of staff to see me and to discuss my needs. The old boiler was inefficient and kept breaking down and in order to get hot water to wash the dishes I had to heat a whole tank of water. I am a pensioner and with the cost of energy rising, it really concerned me that I wouldn’t be able to heat my home.  Care & Repair used £1805 from the Health Through Warmth Fund and also contacted a number of other charities including Supporting Friends and St John Lloyd to make up the difference. I couldn’t believe it when they told me they had raised the full amount and had event sourced someone to remove the old boiler and install the new one.  It  has made a real difference to me, my house is warm, I only heat the water I use and I’m sure my bills will be much lower as a result.”

 Edwina Hart, AM commented  “I was delighted to hear how the npower Health Through Warmth scheme is working together with Care & Repair Cymru for the benefit of vulnerable residents in Wales.  The links with Care & Repair agencies are very valuable and enable available financial resources to be brought together for greater impact through caseworker co-ordination” 

 Chris Jones, MD of Care & Repair Cymru added:  “Our partnership with npower though the Health Through Warmth scheme has made a real difference to some of our most vulnerable clients.  Having a warm home is something we all take for granted but for many older people it is a real worry.  It’s not only how to pay the bills, but how to pay for repairs or replacing broken heaters or boilers.  The Health Through Warmth scheme is helping to fill a gap when no other help is available and that must be a good thing.”

 For further information please contact Edwina O’Hart

Tel: 02920 557414 or Mobile: 07791898497 E: edwina-ohart@chcymru.org.uk

 To hear Ms Brice’s story – please click here: http://youtu.be/HCUDHXiXXzc

 Ends

Note for Editors

 The Big Energy Week is a Nation Campaign organised by Citizen’s Advice and will run from January 16 – 21. 

 Care & Repair Cymru is the national body for Care & Repair in Wales, and the Older Persons Housing Champion.  The 22 Care & Repair Agencies across Wales actively work to ensure that all older people have homes that are safe, secure and appropriate to their needs.