Tackling Fuel Poverty

Transcription

1 Tackling Fuel Poverty Ebico Trust and Age Cymru August 2015 Programme Overview 1

2 The Ebico Trust granted Age Cymru 15,000 for an 18 month period between October 2013 and March The aim of the programme was to tackle fuel poverty in specified electoral wards of Cardiff and Penarth via Age Cymru s HandyVan service. The service centred on installing practical home energy efficiency improvements such as energy efficient light bulbs, draught excluders and radiator panels and providing practical energy efficiency information and advice to clients. The following report provides an overview of how the Ebico funding was spent in specific electoral awards in Cardiff and Penarth that are characterised as being fuelpoverty hot spots. The wards, listed below, were identified through data published by the Welsh Government. Adamsdown Plasnewydd Canton Riverside St Augustine s (Penarth) Splott Gabalfa Cathays Grangetown Butetown Targeting fuel poor households: How we communicated The following section describes the various methods we used to engage older people living in the fuel poverty hot spots and local stakeholders with the HandyVan service. Working with local health and social services Local authority social services and also GP surgeries regularly come into contact with the most vulnerable older people living in the community. We therefore mailed such services with posters, leaflets and letters introducing the service so they could refer older people to us. Action: September 2014 Made a presentation to community nurses at the George Thomas hospital in Canton. Action: January 2015 Mailed 72 GP surgeries in Cardiff and Penarth with literature about HandyVan and fuel poverty interventions. Forging links with food-banks 2

3 We developed working relationships with foodbanks across the area so the service providers and users could get to know about our service. The foodbanks tend to be based in the electoral wards with the higher risk of fuel poverty. Action: September Mailed flyers, posters, information sheets and referral forms to seven food-banks across Cardiff (6) and Penarth (1) Building relationships with ward councilors We have written to all the ward councilors in Cardiff and Penarth to enable them to tell visitors to their surgeries about our service. We continue to build a relationship with the councilors as they often come into contact with the more vulnerable older people within their communities looking for additional support. We used the ward structure to specifically target our efforts to the most at risk areas of fuel poverty. Action: May ed all the councilors in Cardiff and Penarth with literature about HandyVan and fuel poverty interventions. Age Alliance Wales Age Cymru manages an alliance of charities that also work with older people including RNIB, Action on Hearing Loss, and the Alzheimer Society. We fully informed this alliance about the service so they could disseminate information to their older clients and service users on a regular basis. Action: October 2014 Presented the Alliance with literature about HandyVan and fuel poverty interventions. Linking with charities working for vulnerable people The service is regularly in contact with a number of charities and groups that support the more vulnerable older people within our communities such as the Salvation Army, Women s Institute, and local church groups. Action: May 2014 Made a presentation to the staff at Age Connects Cardiff and the Vale Action: February 2015 Took part in the Fuel Poverty Awareness Day at the Riverside Community Centre Public libraries Older people tend to be frequent and heavy users of library services. Therefore, we have distributed posters and leaflets about the service to all the public libraries in Cardiff and Penarth. In addition we have circulated media releases and placed advertisements in community newsletters. 3

4 November Attended a carers fair in Cardiff Central Library February 2014 Organised a drop in session at Adamsdown Library April 2014 Organised a drop in session at Grangetown Library April 2014 Organised a drop in session at Penarth Library June 2014 Organised a drop in session at Splott Library July 2014 Organised a drop in session at Cathays Library Community Police Services The Handyvan Service has been particularly successful in developing a strong relationship with Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) who know about the location of the more vulnerable older people within their patch. November 2013 Made a presentation at a Police and Community meeting on in the Cathays area of the city. December Met with staff at the Cardiff City Council helpdesk so they now know where to signpost callers needing help with energy efficiency measures. Older people s groups Age Cymru s Engagement Team encourages and supports several older people s forums and lunch clubs in the targeted areas and we have used this network to highlight the benefits of having free energy checks. We have lots of anecdotal evidence to suggest that people receiving information via this network, are good at cascading information down to friends and neighbours who are less able to get out and about. Social Media Although the number of vulnerable older people engaging with new communication technologies is still relatively low in Wales, we still use social media to help promote the HandyVan service. February 2014 Made a presentation at the Salvation Army centre in Splott February 2014 Made a presentation at the Salvation Army centre in Grangetown April 2014 Made a presentation at the Salvation Army centrein Penarth May 2014 Received the National Foundations Quality Mark May 2014 Made a presentation to the over 50s group in Grangetown May 2014 Made a presentation to the over 60s coffee morning in Canton June 2014 Made a presentation to the over 50s ladies group in Canton September 2014 Made a presentation to a group of retired civil servants in central Cardiff November 2014 Made a presentation to the over 50s forum in Cathays December 2014 Made a presentation at a coffee morning in Splott Baptist Church 4

5 March 2015 Made a presentation to the Penarth Ageing Well group Age Cymru Staff Age Cymru staff have been briefed comprehensively about how the Handyvan service delivers home energy efficiency checks, so they can relay this information to the thousands of older people with whom they have direct contact. Action: February 2014 HandyVan team led a workshop session with Age Cymru staff. The Handyvan Service itself The service is operated by a skilled and experienced team who, when carrying out other aspects of the service, are able to detect when a vulnerable older person would benefit from a home energy efficiency check and then make the necessary arrangements. Action: On-going Door-to-door flyers and direct mail As many vulnerable older people tend to become housebound with little interaction within their community, we have embarked on a series of door-to-door drops and direct mail shots to engage them with the HandyVan service. November 2013 Delivered flyers door-to-door in the Canton area December 2013 Wrote directly to all previous clients of the HandyVan service in Cardiff and Penarth December ed nine community centres across Cardiff and Penarth December Delivered flyers door-to-door in the Butetown area December 2013 Delivered flyers door-to-door in the Gabalfa area February Delivered flyers door-to-door in the Plasnewydd area March 2014 Delivered flyers door-to-door in the Riverside area May 2014 Delivered flyers door-to-door in the Grangetown area July 2014 Delivered flyers door-to-door in the Splott area January Mailed four local day centres across Cardiff Developing links with stakeholders To reach as many older people as possible we have contacted a range of organisations that regularly provide services to this age group. We provided each organisation with information about the HandyVan, so they can signpost older people towards the service. 5

6 March 2014 Undertook a one hour Q&A live on Radio Cardiff June Met with the Vale of Glamorgan Council social housing department June 2014 Met with the Age UK Winter Warmth team July 2014 Made a presentation to the Canton Neighbourhood Watch group July Joined Cardiff's National Energy Action (NEA) group and attended Fuel Poverty Stakeholder workshop August 2014 Held an exhibition at the Vale of Glamorgan County Show September 2014 Hosted an information stand at Bingo 3000 in Gabalfa September 2014 Undertook home energy training with Age UK October 2014 Made a presentation at the Salvation Army in Splott January 2015 Hosted an information stand at Bingo 3000 in Gabalfa February 2015 Attended a National Energy Action seminar on Fuel Poverty and Debt February 2015 Attended the NEA Affordable Warmth Steering Group March 2015 Held an exhibition at Splott market which is popular with residents from a number of wards struggling with fuel poverty. Targeting fuel poor households: Details of the people we visited The following section outlines who we visited using the Ebico Grant. Start End Year Total Cumulative Total October December January March April June July September October December * 74 January March * 83 *Programme was halted in October due to Ebico s review of the funding procedures Demographics of the people helped in fuel poverty wards Date Area Postcode Beds People Gender Age MTB* Disabled Mar-14 Grangetown CF M 85+ Apr-14 Plasnewydd CF F Under 65 Yes Apr-14 Grangetown CF M&F Jul-14 Canton CF5 3 1 F Yes Jul-14 Canton CF5 3 1 F Yes Jul-14 Canton CF5 3 2 M&F 85+ Yes Jul-14 Canton CF5 3 1 F Yes Jul-14 Canton CF F Yes 6

7 Sep-14 Gabalfa CF F 85+ Yes Yes Sep-14 Grangetown CF F 85+ Yes Yes Sep-14 Gabalfa CF M&F Yes Yes Sep-14 Grangetown CF F Yes Jan-15 Grangetown CF M&F Yes Jan-15 Tremorfa CF F Yes Yes Feb-15 Gabalfa CF M&F Under 65 Yes Yes Mar-15 Grangetown CF M Yes Yes Mar-15 Gabalfa CF M&F Mar-15 Riverside CF M Under 65 Mar-15 Cathays CF F&F Yes Yes *Means Tested Benefit Targeting fuel poor households: How the Ebico funding was used Of the 83 homes visited, 19 resulted in specific fuel poverty area interventions. Support from Ebico helped with the home energy checks and interventions that were provided free of charge for older people in fuel poverty. The funding helped with the purchasing of energy efficiency equipment that we installed such as insulation foam for sealing gaps around doors and windows, energy saving light bulbs, remote controlled plug socket, radiator foil to place behind the radiators to reflect heat into the room, brushes for the bottom of doors and letterboxes to stop draughts. We also provided clients with simple, verbal advice to help tackle fuel poverty such as keeping the living room temperature at 21 degrees and bedroom at 18 degrees, keeping windows closed at night to keep in the heat, tucking curtains in behind radiators, only filling the kettle with what you need, turning off appliances at the socket and washing full loads at lower temperatures. The service also referred clients to Age Cymru s information guides and factsheets such as Winter Wrapped Up, Winter Warm Discount and Save Energy, Pay Less. Item installed to save Number of Impact energy items installed Insulation foam 19 Warmer home Light bulbs 116 4,408kg of carbon dioxide saved External door brush 11 Warmer home Internal door draught 48 Warmer home excluder Remote controlled plug socket 31 7,585kg of carbon dioxide saved 7

8 Letter box brush 6 Warmer home Night lights 108 Improved safety 24hour socket timers 22 Daytime energy saving Radiator foil 132 3,960kg of carbon dioxide saved Cold alarms 10 Improved personal safety Targeting fuel poor households: Conclusions There are some very challenging circumstances in tackling fuel poverty in the wards we have been targeting. Many of the homes were built with single cavity walls and are therefore difficult to insulate. Many of these homes are owned by older people who lack both the financial and the physical means to carry out improvements and adaptations by themselves. And, with a backdrop of rising energy bills, this combinations of factors has led to an increase in fuel poverty amongst homes in the targeted areas. Our other main challenge lies with engaging with the occupants of the fuel poverty homes. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the more vulnerable an older person becomes then the more likely they are to become nervous and suspicious of dealing with public, private, and third sector services, which is why we have chosen such a broad range of engagement approaches. The project has been very effective in making fuel poverty homes more fuel efficient through simple adaptations and small behavioural changes. The project has also been very popular with clients as the changes make their homes warmer and cheaper to heat. As the service continues to operate in the targeted wards we expect that there will be an increase in the amount of recommendations made by word of mouth and thereby help us to further penetrate this hard to reach section of the population. We would therefore very much value the continued support of the Ebico Trust, in helping us build on groundwork outlined in this report and take an active approach to tackling fuel poverty amongst the more vulnerable older people in Cardiff and Penarth. Claire Morgan Director of Services Age Cymru 3 August