Press Release

Working together to make warmth affordable

Staff of the Vale of White Horse District Council and The Vale Housing Association will be joined by Dr. Evan Harris MP and representatives from the health and social care sector, the local community and national organisations on 14th May for the Vale Affordable Warmth Forum.

The forum, which will take place in the Council Chambers in the Guildhall, Abingdon, is being held jointly by the District Council and the Housing Association in order to promote the need for affordable warmth for all.

The forum will be held between 9.30 and 12.30 and will be opened by Dr Evan Harris MP. This will then be followed by presentations from organisations that are experts in the field of fuel poverty and the provision of affordable warmth, including British Gas, Sustainable Homes, Eaga Partnership and Thames Valley Energy Centre. Once delegates have been provided with an overview of the issues involved, they will then be given the opportunity to feed back their ideas about how the problems of eliminating fuel poverty and providing affordable warmth can be approached. These suggestions will then be taken forward to aid the development of the individual Affordable Warmth Strategies of the Vale of White Horse District Council and The Vale Housing Association both of which will outline the actions the relevant organisations intend to take in order to eliminate fuel poverty and make warmth affordable.

Notes to Editors

1. The Housing Corporation has a target that 70% of Registered Social Landlords will have an Affordable Warmth Strategy in place by 2004.
   
2. Since 2000 Local Authorities in England and Wales have been required to report on fuel poverty annually as part of their duties under the Home Energy Conservation Act.
   
3. The UK Fuel Poverty Strategy first published in November 2001 sets out measures to end fuel poverty in vulnerable households by 2010.
   
4. A household is deemed to be fuel poor when it spends more than 10% of its net income (income net of housing costs) to maintain a satisfactory level of warmth (18OC - 21OC). Fuel poverty arises from a combination of low income, poor levels of insulation, expensive to run heating systems, expensive fuel and under-occupancy.
   
5. Currently the average level of fuel poverty in the Vale of White Horse is 16% of households with 50% of all single pensioner and single parent households being fuel poor.