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It's 25 July 2008

eaga Warm Front scheme

Added 29 October 2006

Note from W4MP: This guide has been written for W4MP by eaga staff. If you work for an MP and have helpful hints on how to make this partnership work effectively we would be glad to hear from you with a view to adding your comments at the bottom of this guide. Use the Feedback Form.

eaga are always looking to forge new links and maintain existing partnerships with MPs and their constituency offices. For Warm Front to reach some of the most vulnerable and 'hardest to reach' communities, the involvement of community representatives is paramount. We urge you to read this guide and get in touch to see how we can work together to provide warmer, healthier homes in your constituency.

Warm Front is a Defra-funded programme designed to alleviate ‘fuel poverty’ by carrying out repairs to heating, installing new heating systems and providing loft and cavity-wall insulation for example.

The scheme is aimed at the private sector (i.e. those who own or privately rent their home) and eligibility is dependent on the householder being in receipt of certain disability or income-related benefits.

Living in a warm, more energy efficient home has significant positive impacts on our health, social and financial well-being, and reduces the impact that our energy consumption has on the environment. Over 1 million homes have benefited from a Warm Front grant to date and the current scheme is running until 2010.

Rising fuel prices generally affect some of the most vulnerable households in the UK, and Warm Front are working hard to reach into the communities that may otherwise not have access to this scheme. The eaga ‘Network Team’ are working locally and regionally with a range of stakeholders and partner organisations, engaging with their members to promote the benefits of living in warmer, healthier homes.

eaga, who manage the Warm Front scheme in England and equivalent schemes in Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, also regularly work with MPs to promote Warm Front in their constituencies. There are three main ways that we work with you:

Energy Awareness/Entitlement Awareness events

Held in your constituency, this event is run in partnership with relevant local agencies and community groups who can help to promote Warm Front. Your local authority Home Energy Conservation Act (HECA) Officer usually attends to address the local housing and health issues. Other groups that may attend this type of event include the Pension Service, Energy Efficiency Advice Centre, Home Improvement Agency, local Health Professionals, and community groups. These events are particularly good at targeting the hard-to-reach groups who are often constrained by language, cultural, or geographical barriers. Whether public-facing or partnership-engaging, an Energy Awareness event can stimulate ideas locally and kick-start interest. More recently these events have incorporated our ‘Benefit Entitlement Check’ team, who offer a free and confidential service to your constituents, identifying unclaimed benefits that they may be entitled to. On average this service has found £24 per week of unclaimed benefits, in turn qualifying more people and families for Warm Front.

Visit to a Warm Front client

We can find a client in your constituency who has benefited from a Warm Front grant and is willing to be visited in their home by the MP and a member of our team, and appear in the local media. We are currently arranging a host of MP visits to Warm Front grant recipients as part of NEA’s ‘Warm Homes Week’ at the end of November.

Regional media

We can provide you with a Warm Front constituency report, detailing the work carried out in your area. This is accompanied by a press release, which you are free to issue or we can send to your local media on your behalf.

For all events, we are happy to write and issue news releases and provide statistical information on Warm Front work undertaken in your constituency. We will also provide a photographer when necessary.

However, none of these formats are set in stone and we will try to accommodate any requests your MP may have for a Warm Front event. The Network Team are on hand to work with you and organise events that are suitable for your constituency.

If you would like to organise some Warm Front publicity for your MP to encourage constituents to apply for a grant then please contact:

Anne Toms
Government Affairs Manager
eaga
Tel: 0191 247 3840
Fax: 0191 247 3802
Email: anne.toms@eaga.com

Websites:

http://www.eaga.com/
http://www.warmfront.co.uk
www.eaga.com/government_contracts/network_team.htm
http://www.eaga.com/grants/warmfront/reports.htm
http://www.nea.org.uk/

You can also

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