WARM HOMES HEALTHY FUTURES
A nationally co-ordinated, locally delivered programme, implemented at scale to make lasting differences to people’s health.
By working together, everyone can live in warm, healthy homes.
Who we are
National Energy Action (NEA) is the national fuel poverty charity. We’ve worked across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland for over 40 years to ensure that everyone can afford to live in a warm, healthy home.
Together with frontline practitioners, companies, regulators and governments, National Energy Action works to support vulnerable clients, raise awareness and achieve enduring change.
Everyone should live in a warm, healthy home
Cold, damp, poor quality homes are disastrous for our health and wellbeing, and costly to the health and social care systems. Tackling fuel poverty is a public health priority.
In response, National Energy Action established Warm Homes, Healthy Futures: a large-scale nationally co-ordinated network of local services connecting the dots between fuel poverty and health.
Working across England, Scotland, and Wales, Warm Homes, Healthy Futures establishes pathways for health and social care professionals to connect the vulnerable people they support to vital energy and CO safety advice, income maximisation and essential gas appliance servicing.
It also offers other related crisis support, working to ensure that everyone can live warm, safe, and healthy lives at home.
Our recent polling showed 49% of GB adults were likely to ration energy use in the next three months But those with certain health conditions were more likely to expect to ration their heating:
62% Arthritis
58%
57%
What’s the problem?
Millions of households in the UK are living in fuel poverty unable to afford adequate energy to stay warm, healthy, and comfortable at home.
We know that cold, damp, poor quality homes are devastating for our physical and mental health.
Health impacts of cold home-related illness cost the NHS an estimated £1.4bn per year and lead to thousands of preventable, avoidable deaths each year. Being unwell often makes life more expensive. A diagnosis can increase
What’s the solution?
Warm Homes, Healthy Futures is designed with people’s needs at its heart, ensuring those with health conditions and disabilities get the right support to live in a warm, healthy home.
National Energy Action – the national fuel poverty charity – is leading a network of partners to connect the dots with health and social care to
household bills by hundreds of pounds. Many households depend on energy to run medical equipment or store medication.
This creates a vicious cycle of fuel poverty for those most vulnerable who can’t afford enough energy to stay warm and well, and then need more energy because of a diagnosis.
We also know people are discharged back to the homes that made them sick, unable to afford energy and other essentials they need to get well and stay well.
offer free, impartial, and confidential energy and benefits advice and support.
We know that professionals in the health and social care sectors are trusted by their patients and understand their circumstances best. That’s why they play a vital role in identifying those in need.
Together, we are supporting tens of thousands of people across England, Scotland, and Wales, through:
Advice and support with energy supply and bills, and energy saving measures
Benefits checks, income maximisation and claim support
Carbon Monoxide awareness and provision of free CO alarms
Essential servicing of gas boilers and gas appliances
Access to further crisis support, for example, Winter Warmth Support packs and fuel vouchers
Information and support signing up to the Priority Services Register (PSR)
Access to grants for repair and replacement boilers and other measures such as insulation
Raising awareness
We are raising awareness in communities and training frontline professionals on the health risks of cold, damp homes and CO safety. Extensive insight and evidence feed into essential work to understand, inform, engage, and influence.
Our programme uses economic and social research to explore in depth the impacts on health and the richness of lived experience for people supported and those providing the support.
“The enthusiasm from energy, housing and health professionals has been incredible in building this network. We’re thrilled that the Warm Homes, Healthy Futures programme is now delivering vital support, helping create warmer, safer and healthier homes, while strengthening collaboration to tackle fuel poverty and health inequalities.’
Dr Danielle Butler, Head of Development, National Energy Action
Flexibility is key
“At the heart of the network is flexibility. Working closely with health, fuel poverty, and housing experts, the programme critically draws on local and regional intelligence to understand and shape delivery.
This involves careful and meaningful consideration of key health priorities, gaps in support, and local need and uses this to set the direction for which health conditions and disabilities to focus on, and which health and social care professionals to work with.
Who are we working with?
In the first year of Warm Homes, Healthy Futures we have connected with more than ten thousand people living with health conditions and disabilities made worse or difficult to manage by cold, damp homes.
This support has reached people in more than 80 places across Great Britain, working with a network of more than 25 trusted organisations, and over 150 health and social care professionals.
Our connections with the health and social care system have deepened, harnessing existing connections and building new ones with GPs, social prescribers, cancer care, pharmacists, mental health services, community health, adult social care, and more.
e.g. GPs
Social prescribers
Led by National Energy Action Network of advice services
In-depth energy and benefits advice and support including: triage, energy casework, benefit entitlement checks, servicing, Carbon Monoxide monitors
Grace’s story: Easing financial strain and restoring comfort
Struggling with illness and unable to work, Grace and her partner faced mounting energy debt and rising costs. She had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and then sadly her mum had died. When their fridge freezer broke, managing meals became even harder.
After hearing about Warm Homes, Healthy Futures from her cancer nurse, Grace received vital energy advice and support. With practical, tailored support, Grace regained financial stability, a warmer home, and peace of mind.
ENERGY DEBT RELIEF
£147 in vouchers and supplier negotiations reduced her repayments to just £2 per month.
ACCESS TO A £700 CREDIT for her energy account.
ESSENTIAL APPLIANCES
a crisis fund replaced her fridge freezer, helping her store meals.
WINTER WARMTH SUPPORT PACK providing essentials for warmth and security.
ONGOING SUPPORT added to the Priority Services Register for continued assistance.
“When I spoke to Grace on the phone for the first time, I could hear the desperation in her voice. She was struggling. It was such a rewarding feeling being able to do a couple of small acts of kindness during such a difficult time..
National Energy Action Energy Adviser
What our clients have told us...
“Thank you for your patience and help and for chatting to me like I was a normal person. What I have found is that a lot of people I used to see are no longer around, it is like they don’t want to talk to me in case I pass the cancer on to them.
“With the support you gave me, I had my heating on for six hours a day, instead of an hour.
“Thank you so much for helping me with my health conditions and air fryer and new cooker.
“
I wouldn’t have got through this winter without you. I would have ended up back in jail because I needed the money for food or leccy, or I would have died.
[My adviser] phoned me back and went you’ve been accepted. Wow, I cried that night. I was so relieved. I can’t praise you enough.
Email:healthyfutures@nea.org.uk Web: www.nea.org.uk/whhf
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