Jon Trickett, MP for Hemsworth visits homes in South Kirkby
Local MP pledges to help hard pressed constituents escape the misery of living in fuel poverty this winter Jon Trickett, MP for Hemsworth, is backing the Warm Homes Campaign 2011 and is stressing that community engagement is vital in combating rising levels of fuel poverty in South Kirkby.
The Warm Homes Campaign is a national campaign run by the UK's leading fuel poverty charity National Energy Action, and supported by E.ON, to raise awareness of fuel poverty and the issues surrounding living in a cold home.
Mr Trickett marked his support by meeting with NEA and local housing provider Chevin Housing Association Ltd (a member of the Together Housing Group), to visit a housing renovation scheme that has recently been completed in South Kirkby. The scheme has seen 54 houses on West Street, Hoyland Terrace, Mill Street and Mill Lane, many of which were previously cold, draughty and expensive to heat, stripped back to the brickwork and given a completely new internal thermal envelope, then refurbished to provide comfortable, energy efficient homes which people are now proud to live in, and provide much needed protection from the cold and rising energy prices.
Jon Trickett MP said: "The Warm Homes Campaign highlights that there are still millions of people who are simply struggling to keep their homes warm and protect their families from the ill effects of the cold. Fuel-poor households experience a number of detrimental health impacts and reductions in general wellbeing as a result of cold, damp living conditions. Whilst this is unacceptable, the campaign also demonstrates how help is available. It also underlines how important it is that future government schemes are able to target support for the most vulnerable households effectively.
"The most important message this year is that there is help out there for vulnerable households. I urge everyone to contact the Home Heat Helpline on 0800 33 66 99 to get help and advice on staying warm in their home this winter without the fear of fuel debt and ill health."
Sam Sykes, Head of Asset Strategy at Chevin Housing Association said: "Chevin are delighted to be supporting NEA's Warm Homes Campaign. We recognise that fuel poverty is a major issue for many of our tenants. Rising energy prices will make matters much worse over the next few years unless landlords like us make significant investment in improving the energy efficiency of our properties. We are proud of the improvements we have achieved at South Kirkby and are committed to making similar improvements to our stock wherever we can".
NEA Chief Executive Jenny Saunders said: "For 30 years NEA has been building awareness and tackling the causes and symptoms of this national problem. In our experience, the most rational and sustainable solution is locally based schemes that improve heating and insulation, income maximisation and lower tariffs. These are the real tools to tackle the problem within local communities. We are currently working hard with the Government and our supporters to help design and implement policies and programmes that deliver that help at a neighbourhood level".
This year has seen energy prices rise to record levels and the number of fuel poor households in the UK is now over 6.6 million. Over 20 per cent of households in Wakefield are struggling to heat their homes, with hard-to-treat properties, such as solid wall and those on gas and oil heating, posing the greatest problems.
