Brighton & Hove Fuel Poverty & Affordable Warmth Plan 2024
1. Overview
Many households face challenges in heating their home, particularly over the winter months. Fuel poverty is the problem faced by households living on a low income in a home which cannot be kept warm at reasonable cost. This can mean making difficult choices between heating the home and other essentials such as food, clothing or falling into debt. For many households, the result can be living in a home that is cold and/or falling into debt, both of which have cumulative negative impacts on health and wellbeing. Cold homes also present a greater likelihood of additional poor housing conditions, such as damp and mould, which bring further associated health risks.
A national statutory fuel poverty target was set in December 2014, binding successive governments to ensure that as many fuel poor homes as is reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency rating of Band C, by 2030. The national strategy ‘Sustainable Warmth: Protecting Vulnerable Households in England’ sets out the approach that the government will take in order to meet the target.
Reflecting the national strategy, our intention is for this Brighton & Hove Fuel Poverty & Affordable Warmth Plan to be a ‘living document’, aligned with current local and national strategy, that both reflects and drives local action to tackle fuel poverty and cold homes. The objectives and subsequent actions will be jointly owned by the Brighton & Hove Fuel Poverty & Affordable Warmth (FPAW) Steering Group and wider city partners as appropriate.
The following overarching objectives have been developed to reflect those within the national fuel poverty strategy, in consultation and collaboration with the FPAW Steering Group, the Council’s Net Zero and Policy Teams, and insights from the citywide Cost of Living Action Plan consultation (autumn 2023):
1. Improve the energy efficiency of the city’s housing stock and increase access to cheaper, lower carbon energy
2. Support residents struggling to pay their energy bills
3. Increase effective targeting of households experiencing fuel poverty, prioritising those who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable
4. Work together to tackle fuel poverty through partnership and learning
5. Maximise resources and opportunities for tackling fuel poverty in the city and providing support for residents
This plan supports delivery of the Brighton & Hove City Council Plan to create ‘A better Brighton & Hove for all - a city to be proud of, a healthy, fair and inclusive city where everyone thrives’, and in particular supports delivery across Outcomes 1, 2 and 3:
1. A city to be proud of
i. Investing in our city
ii. An accessible, clean, and sustainable city
2. A fair and inclusive city
i. An inclusive and more equitable city
ii. A city where people feel safe, included and welcome
iii. Homes for everyone
3. A healthy city where people thrive
i. A better future for children and young people
ii. Living and ageing well
This plan also aligns with the following key local and national strategies and workstreams:
National:
- Sustainable Warmth – Protecting Vulnerable Households in England
- Excess winter deaths and illness and the health risks associated with cold homes
- Adverse Weather and Health Plan - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Brighton & Hove:
- Cost of Living Action Plan
- Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2019-2030 (brighton-hove.gov.uk)
- Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA)
- Carbon Neutral 2030 programme (brighton-hove.gov.uk)
· Brighton & Hove City Council Housing Strategy - Homes for Everyone 2024-2029
· Brighton & Hove Food Strategy Action Plan 2025-2030 (to be agreed at Cabinet on 14/11/24)
This plan reflects the already extensive and dynamic partnership work across the city, recognising the significant value and expertise of our local Community and Voluntary Sector (CVS) partners. The plan details the national and local context and relevant drivers for action, describes the impacts of fuel poverty and cold homes, considers the local challenges, resources and opportunities and outlines how, as a city, we will continue our response to this significant issue.
2. Context & Background
This Fuel Poverty & Affordable Warmth (FPAW) Plan has been developed as an update to the Brighton & Hove Fuel Poverty & Affordable Warmth Strategy 2016-2020, agreed at the Health and Wellbeing Board in 2016. It seeks to respond to the National Fuel Poverty Strategy for England, Sustainable warmth: protecting vulnerable households in England (2021)and the ongoing cost of living (COL) crisis and high energy prices experienced since 2022.
The previous local FPAW Strategy was developed in response to the release of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) NG6 guideline released in 2015, Excess winter deaths and illness and the health risks associated with cold homes. This guidance provides evidence-based recommendations on how to reduce the risk of death and ill health associated with living in a cold home. The NICE guideline and the risks identified remain current today.
The current national definition for fuel poverty measurement was released in 2021. The Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) measure[1] considers a household to be fuel poor if:
· it lives in a property with an energy efficiency rating below Band C[2]
· it’s disposable income (after housing and energy costs) would be below the poverty line[3]
A household’s fuel poverty status using the LILEE measure depends on the interaction of four key drivers: home energy efficiency, household income, housing costs and energy prices. The LILEE measure indicates both the extent as well as the depth, or severity, of fuel poverty (the fuel poverty gap).
The latest available figures released in April 2024 using the LILEE definition, estimate that in 2022, 13.2 per cent of households in Brighton and Hove were in fuel poverty, which equates to 16,527 households in the city (9.7 per cent of households in the South East and 13.1 per cent of households in England were estimated to be in fuel poverty in 2022).[4]
The fuel poverty gap is the estimated reduction in annual fuel costs needed for a household to not be in fuel poverty. In 2022, the average fuel poverty gap for England was estimated to be £348. This is estimated to have increased to £417 in 2023, reflecting the increase in the price of energy in this period.1
3. Fuel poverty in Brighton & Hove
The below table shows the estimated change in fuel poverty, locally and nationally, from the oldest data available under the LILEE definition (2019) to the most recent data available (2022).[5]
Estimated percentage of households in fuel poverty (LILEE definition)
|
Year |
Brighton & Hove (%) |
South East (%) |
England (%) |
|
2022 |
13.2 |
9.7 |
13.1 |
|
2021 |
11.6 |
8.4 |
13.1 |
|
2020 |
12 |
8.6 |
13.2 |
|
2019 |
10.5 |
7.5 |
13.4 |
The CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) Nearest Neighbours Model uses a wide range of socio‐economic indicators to identify comparable local authorities. In 2022, Brighton & Hove ranked sixth lowest of 16 statistically comparable local authority areas, with the average percentage of households in fuel poverty across these local authorities at 15.4 per cent.
The map below shows the estimated distribution of fuel poverty in Brighton & Hove in 2022.
There are multiple contributing factors that influence levels of fuel poverty in Brighton & Hove, as nationally. Levels of fuel poverty in the city have historically been higher than the regional average for the South East and lower than CIPFA neighbours. Contributory factors for levels of fuel poverty in Brighton & Hove include older, less energy efficient housing stock, high housing costs, levels of household income and a large private rented sector. The latest national statistics indicate that nationally the private rented sector has the highest levels of fuel poverty of all housing tenures with 24.1% of these households living in fuel poverty.[6]
As identified in the Brighton & Hove Housing Strategy ‘Homes for everyone’ 2024-2029, the local housing stock presents a number of challenges with regards to how it impacts on the levels and depth of fuel poverty in the city, in terms of housing tenure, condition and affordability:
· 58 per cent of Brighton & Hove’s housing was built before 1940 including a significant number of 'hard to treat properties' (e.g. those with solid walls) in relation to energy efficiency measures.
· Brighton & Hove is increasingly less affordable than England with an average house price of £421,950 (August 2023)
· Average house prices are 12.3 times average earnings in the city (2022), higher than the average for England (8.3) and the South East (10.4)
· 33 per cent of homes are rented privately (20 per cent in England and 19 per cent in the South East)
· In September 2023, average private rent was £1,300 per month in Brighton & Hove (compared with £850 in England and £1,050 in the South East)
· There are more than 4,200 Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in the city.
4. Impact of fuel poverty & cold homes
The latest national statistics identify those households most likely to be in fuel poverty and to what extent. The Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics in England, 2024, reports that in 2023:
· Tenure: the highest rate of fuel poverty was in the private rented sector, with 24.1 per cent of these households being fuel poor. Owner occupiers had the lowest level of fuel poverty. Owner occupied and privately rented properties had lower median energy efficient ratings, which resulted in higher energy costs and a higher average fuel poverty gap.
· Household composition: Single parent households had the highest proportion of households in fuel poverty. In 2023, 28.8 per cent of single parent households were in fuel poverty, however, their average fuel poverty gap was below average (£393). Couples under 60 with no dependent children had the lowest prevalence of fuel poverty (6.3 per cent) but the highest average gap (£474).
· Ethnicity: households with an ethnically minoritised ‘household reference person’ (HRP) had a higher proportion of households in fuel poverty at 16.6 per cent, compared with 12.4 per cent for households with a white HRP. Households with a white HRP had a higher average fuel poverty gap of £435 compared with £326 for households with an ethnically minoritised HRP.
· Age: households containing children and young people had the highest likelihood of being in fuel poverty. In 2023, 25.3 per cent of households where the oldest member was aged 16 to 24 years were fuel poor, with an average gap of £521.
· Employment: those in full-time work and retired had the lowest rates of fuel poverty (8.3 per cent and 12.0 per cent, respectively), whereas households where the HRP is unemployed (36.9 per cent) or a full-time student (35.1 per cent) had the highest incidence of being in fuel poverty.
Health
Fuel poverty, cold homes and health inequalities in the UK (Institute of Health Equity, 2022), highlights that the health impacts of fuel poverty are driven by households having to live in cold homes. Cold homes are linked to an increased risk of developing a wide range of health conditions, especially respiratory and cardiovascular, as well as poor mental health and unintentional injury. Cold homes do not necessarily reflect extreme outdoor temperatures, and the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) reports that most negative health impacts from cold homes occur when outdoor temperatures are around 6°C.[7]
The Institute of Health Equity also highlights that households in fuel poverty are less able to adequately ventilate their homes, which causes poor indoor air quality from particulate matter, damp and mould. As well as the risk of damp in cold homes, poorly fitted or single measure retrofitting can also exacerbate damp due to loss of ventilation. Exposure to cold temperatures increases blood pressure and risk of blood clotting, heart failure / attack and stroke. It also suppresses the immune system, diminishes the lungs’ capacity to fight infection and increases the risk of bronchitis and pneumonia. When a house is damp as well as cold, mould is likely to occur. This increases the risk of respiratory illness, particularly asthma. In 2019 the Local Government Association estimated the NHS spends at least £2.5 billion per year on treating illnesses that are directly linked to cold, damp and unsafe homes.7
Therefore, people living in cold homes during the winter months are at increased risk of negative health outcomes, including winter deaths.7It is estimated that 10 per cent of excess winter deaths (the number of deaths in the winter period compared with the average number of deaths in the non-winter period) are directly attributable to fuel poverty and 21.5 per cent are attributable to cold homes.7
Some fuel poor households are more at risk from the impacts of living in a cold home than others, even if they are not the most severely fuel poor. Babies, children, older people and those with pre-existing health problems are at greatest risk of health problems as a result of living in cold homes, and therefore are particularly at risk to the health consequences of fuel poverty.7 The NG6 NICE guideline on Excess winter deaths and illness and the health risks associated with cold homes, considers the following groups to be most vulnerable to the cold:
· people with cardiovascular conditions
· people with respiratory conditions (in particular, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and childhood asthma)
· people with mental health conditions
· disabled people
· older people (65 and older)
· households with young children (from new-born to school age)
· pregnant people
· people on a low income.
Wider impacts
The Institute of Health Equity highlights that those living in fuel poverty will by definition also experience other types of deprivation. Fuel poverty therefore exacerbates health inequalities by impacting physical and mental health for both adults and children. The Institute of Health Equity reports that:
· In particular, many households in fuel poverty struggle to afford and cook sufficient and healthy foods.
· High fuel costs reduce available resources for transport, socialising and meeting with family, house repairs and access to essential services.
· Fuel poverty increases the number of days of missed education or work.
· Households with insufficient funds may have to choose between heating and online access at home, causing potential for digital exclusion and it’s subsequent wider impacts.
· Deprivation affects how a person’s body grows and develops. Epigenetic changes can occur when children are exposed to consequences of cold, damp housing such as mould and disrupted sleep.
6. Local action
Following approval of the previous local strategy, the Fuel Poverty & Affordable Warmth (FPAW) Steering Group[8] was convened to coordinate our collaborative approach to tackling fuel poverty and cold homes. Co-chaired by Public Health and Housing officers, the multi-agency group brings together key statutory partners including BHCC Public Health, Housing, Food Policy and Welfare teams, East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and Community and Voluntary Sector partners. The group meets on a quarterly basis with frequency increased as required e.g. during the pandemic and subsequent COL and energy crises.
The FPAW Steering Group, as well as the longstanding partnership between the council’s Public Health and Housing departments, has facilitated extensive and dynamic collaborative working between BHCC, NHS and CVS partners since 2016. This work includes coordination of national and local funding streams and development of synergistic initiatives across the city to support residents experiencing fuel poverty and cold homes. Some key examples of this work since 2016 include:
· Annual BHCC Public Health commissioned Warmth for Wellbeing programme to add capacity to key CVS projects supporting residents experiencing fuel poverty and cold homes, aligned with the NG6 NICE guideline. Initiatives previously funded include thermometer cards, warm packs and emergency warmth items, money and energy advice, small energy grants and home energy checks. Between September 2021 and May 2024, CVS organisations were funded to deliver money advice and casework to approximately 1,000 residents, emergency fuel grants to 585 residents and home energy checks with advice and installation of small energy saving measures to 260 residents.
· A range of collaborative work with NHS partners including: development of business cases with NHS savings profiling for Primary Care Trust funding; collaborative working with Integrated Primary Care Teams and GP practices; identifying and offering personalised support to older people with key long term conditions on GP registers; energy desks in GP waiting rooms; training key NHS community teams to recognise fuel poverty, give basic advice and refer patients for support.
· Significant Council housing investment in energy efficiency measures. Council housing in the city now has an average EPC rating of C; significant investment through boiler replacement programme on upgrading to A rated boilers; new windows and doors. More recently the council has installed over 300 solar PV systems on council homes, targeting the least energy efficient homes in areas of higher fuel poverty. A further 500 systems will be installed in the next two years.
· The SHINE project (2016-20), funded by the EU, offered advice to council tenants on saving energy and funded the installation of small measures and smart controls to reduce energy bills.
· Between 2017-2024 the Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG) Warm Safe Homes Grant supported 346 eligible households with measures to reduce energy bills and support warm and safe homes.
The council has also supported multiple successful, collaborative bids with CVS partners for external funding, including:
· £395,000 from the British Gas Energy Trust to run a single point of contact for residents experiencing cold homes and a programme of associated support during 2016-17.
· Big Energy Saving Network - government funding to help households get the best deal on their energy bills and reduce energy use.
· Rampion Fund - set up by Rampion Offshore Wind to support community organisations support residents across Sussex with energy costs.
· Energy Redress Scheme - £362,000 to provide a single point of contact energy advice service, small grants and home energy checks with small energy saving measures during 2023-25.
· £110,000 from UK Power Networks and SGN during 2023-24 to provide energy grants for vulnerable residents with referrals for energy and money advice. A bid for continuation and development of this programme of work during 2024-2026 is currently underway.
The Brighton & Hove Fuel Poverty & Affordable Warmth Plan and the coordinated work around it, including that of the steering group, enables the city to be responsive and agile in scaling up, supporting and collaborating to leverage significant additional resource into the city to support vulnerable households. Accessing funding from external sources, whether from the energy industry, central Government funding or charitable sources, has achieved greater success through a clear strategic plan and dynamic partnership working in the city that supports a network of stakeholders to provide coordinated and targeted support that can respond at pace to the differing requirements of funders. The council has received feedback from both funders and CVS partners over recent years echoing this. Our strategic approach and coordination makes the city more attractive to funders who have specific obligations or targets they need to achieve through the funding they provide. Securing additional funding and delivering this can be a resource intensive process that many individual organisations struggle to achieve on their own. The network and citywide partnership working we have developed and continue to facilitate via the FPAW Steering Group enables citywide partners to access significant additional resource for the city that may otherwise be missed.
Key support currently available to residents experiencing fuel poverty includes:
· Energyworks[9] (funded by the national Energy Redress Scheme and provided by Citizen’s Advice Brighton & Hove and Brighton & Hove Energy Services Cooperative, BHESCo) - single point of contact energy advice service, offering energy advice, small grants and home energy checks. Council officers work collaboratively with Energyworks to fund additional support via internal and external funding sources (e.g. Household Support Fund), including money advice and casework and small energy bill grants, delivered by Moneyworks partners. From February 2022 to July 2024, Energyworks supported 2,499 residents with energy advice, 216 residents with money advice, 1,160 residents with fuel grants (totalling £186,000) and 327 residents with home energy checks.
· LEAP (Local Energy Advice Partnership) - in 2019, the Council launched a partnership with LEAP, a free national service funded via the Warm Homes Discount Industry Initiative. LEAP provides personalised advice and small energy efficiency measures via phone and home visits to help people keep warm and reduce their energy bills. Since 2019, LEAP has supported 878 households in Brighton & Hove.
· Housing Revenue Account Solar PV programme 2023-2026 – installing up to 800 solar PV systems to Council houses and bungalows focussing on the least energy efficient homes in areas of the city with higher levels of fuel poverty.
· Private sector housing grant schemes Home Upgrade Grant, Energy Company Obligation and Great British Insulation Scheme – providing funding for energy efficiency improvements to less energy efficient homes for private renters and owner occupiers with lower household incomes.
· Further support is provided for eligible residents through the Local Discretionary Social Fund, the Community Hub and the Household Support Fund, distributed by the council and a wide range of community and voluntary sector organisations.
· The Council has also worked with community partners to set up an online ‘Warm Welcome Directory’ with information on free indoor activities and places residents can go to keep warm across the city.
· The council’s Help with energy bills webpages provide information and advice for residents on energy bills, home energy efficiency and keeping warm and well. Each winter, a resource document is also cascaded to the city’s frontline workforce via email, listing key local support that residents can be signposted or referred to.
7. Net Zero
A key consideration in the coming years, alongside national strategy and policy, is to ensure households have access to sustainable, low-carbon warmth as we transition to Net Zero. While improving the energy efficiency of homes across the city will help tackle the levels and depth of fuel poverty experienced by households, it also has the potential to support our journey to net zero. We need to prioritise the least efficient homes, develop cost effective options locally and regionally, and consider how best to support vulnerable households.
Decarbonising the built environment, including housing, is set out in the citywide 2030 Carbon Neutral programme.Domestic properties are the largest single source of greenhouse gas emitted in the city, caused by the dominance of gas boilers for heating properties. The challenge to meet the citywide carbon neutral ambition relies on a shift towards low-carbon heating technologies, such as heat pumps and low-carbon heat networks.
A key issue is how to bring fuel poor households along on this journey to net zero without making heating their homes even less affordable for them. For example, while studies have found air source heat pumps can be installed in all types of properties, they may not currently result in cheaper running costs, creating a potential conflict with fuel poverty.
The National Energy Action Fuel Poverty Monitor found significant barriers to achieving the benefits of reaching net zero. In particular, that the upfront costs of low-carbon technologies are a barrier to fuel poor households decarbonising their heating, alongside a perceived lack of clarity on the medium- and long-term future of energy efficiency and low carbon heat schemes nationally. National Energy Action identifies that the UK will not reach net zero without addressing fuel poverty and similarly, we will not end fuel poverty unless we harness the drive towards net zero.
In order to reach the net zero and the national statutory fuel poverty target, it is important that we address the barriers to decarbonising heating for fuel poor households. This plan, the objectives set out below and our future partnership working across the city will need to address these main barriers to fuel poor households decarbonising:
1. Financial barriers (including the unaffordability of up front and ongoing costs)
2. Physical barriers, including poor housing and the need for better connections to the electricity grid
3. The lack of advice to help households decarbonise their homes effectively
To inform a ‘just transition’, the council commissioned a Decarbonisation Pathways Study, which identified short- and medium-term interventions to decarbonise the city’s energy system, taking into account the need to tackle fuel poverty at every stage of the transition. In the short-term, the study identified fabric improvements (e.g. loft insulation and glazing upgrades) as ‘no-regrets’ options to lower residents’ energy bills and prepare homes for low-carbon heating technologies. To reach net zero, the Decarbonisation Pathways Study estimates that fabric improvements are needed in over 105,000 properties across Brighton & Hove, only 6% of which are in council ownership. The study recommends targeting households in fuel poverty and leveraging the external funding such as the Great British Insulation Scheme, Warm Homes: Local Grant, Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, and the Energy Company Obligation to fund these measures.
In the mid-term, the Decarbonisation Pathways Study has identified a few areas of the city that would benefit from the development of heat networks. A heat network – sometimes called district heating – is a distribution system of insulated pipes that takes heat from a central source and delivers it to a number of domestic or non-domestic buildings. Heat networks are a crucial part of how the UK will reach it’s net zero targets as they are one of the most cost-effective ways of decarbonising heating in built-up areas at a fair price to consumers. In Brighton & Hove, heat networks have the greatest potential to lower energy bills in the city centre where there is a high prevalence of fuel poor households and direct-electric heated properties, and where there may be more restrictions on the installation of heat pumps and solar PV systems.
In the medium- to long-term, as able-to-pay households adopt low-carbon heating technologies and disconnect from the gas grid, there is a risk that households remaining on the grid may face higher gas prices, for example due to the costs of network maintenance falling on fewer customers. For this reason, it is critical that households experiencing fuel poverty are not ‘left behind’ but rather are supported in adopting low-carbon heat technologies.
Our plans to decarbonise the city’s housing stock need to support an ‘equitable transition’ to net zero. Future Housing energy strategies and asset investment programmes will reflect this and place residents at the centre of the decarbonisation journey. As the energy system changes in preparation for Net Zero, we also want to understand how households in fuel poverty can benefit from this transition rather than simply avoiding negative impacts.
8. Conclusion
Fuel poverty and cold homes are a significant and complex issue, both nationally and in Brighton & Hove, worsened by the cost of living crisis and high energy prices. This plan details both our approach and commitment to continue working collaboratively and dynamically with partners within the city council, across Brighton & Hove and beyond to tackle this ongoing challenge and support residents to live affordably in warm and healthy homes.
9. Objectives
Delivery of the following objectives will be overseen by the Fuel Poverty & Affordable Warmth Steering Group, reporting into the council’s strategic Poverty Reduction Steering Group.
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Objective 1
Improve the energy efficiency of the city’s housing stock and increase access to cheaper, lower carbon energy
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1.1 Support and encourage residents to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, including access to information, advice and local and national schemes and funding opportunities
1.2 Continued investment into the council’s own housing stock through available grant funding and the Housing and Revenue Account (HRA) capital programme, in line with a revised HRA Asset Management Strategy & HRA Energy Action Plan
1.3 Consideration of fuel poverty and affordable warmth in decision making on all HRA repairs and maintenance, planned and major project programmes
1.4 Ensure energy efficiency and fuel poverty considerations are built into all Council new builds and new housing acquisition decisions
1.5 Work with private landlords, letting agents and tenants to ensure compliance with Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards and through Mandatory and Additional Licensing for Houses of Multiple Occupation and selective licensing for other rented homes to improve the energy efficiency of private rented homes
1.6 Work with stakeholders in the city and wider region to develop schemes that support access to cheaper low carbon technologies and heat, for example collective purchasing schemes and development of heat networks
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Objective 2
Support residents struggling to pay their energy bills
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2.1 Work with local and national partners to ensure residents have access to information, advice and support on home energy efficiency, energy usage and costs
2.2 Work with local and national partners to ensure residents have access to information, advice and support on money, including debt, benefits and financial support and inclusion
2.3 Work with local and national partners to ensure residents have access to information, advice and support on housing and employment
2.4 Work collaboratively with partners to reach and support marginalised and isolated individuals and communities across the city
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Objective 3
Increase effective targeting of households experiencing fuel poverty, prioritising those who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable
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3.1 Work with partners across the city to ensure eligibility criteria for pertinent local schemes targets those who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable
3.2 Work with partners across the city, including Council services, the Community and Voluntary Sector and NHS, to identify groups who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable and increase information sharing, advice and referrals for support
3.3 Work collaboratively to increase awareness and understanding of the health risks of cold homes to increase awareness and referral for support of those who are most vulnerable
3.4 Work with partners across the city to utilise data and intelligence to target information, advice and support to those who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable
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Objective 4
Work together to tackle fuel poverty through partnership and learning
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4.1 Work collaboratively through our multi-agency Fuel Poverty and Affordable Warmth Steering Group to support a coordinated, city-wide approach to tackling fuel poverty and supporting residents
4.2 Work collaboratively with other Council workstreams and in line with the Council Plan to support a coordinated, One Council approach to supporting residents experiencing poverty and inequalities
4.3 Work in partnership with local, regional and national strategic groups and partners, including the Brighton & Hove Health & Wellbeing Board, to tackle the drivers of fuel poverty and support residents
4.4 Share available resources, learning and training with partners in the council and across the city to increase awareness and understanding of fuel poverty, the health impacts of cold homes and available support
4.5 Align our local response with relevant national policy and guidance, including the national fuel poverty strategy and the NG6 National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE) guideline
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Objective 5
Maximise resources and opportunities for tackling fuel poverty in the city and providing support for residents
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5.1 Collaborate with partners across the city to coordinate and develop proposals and applications for additional funding and resources to tackle the drivers of fuel poverty and provide support for residents
5.2 Working in partnership, coordinate and share resources to ensure support is targeted and maximised to the benefit of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable residents
5.3 Ensure meaningful links to other strategies and work streams across all sectors, to maximise opportunities, synergies, value for money and impact
5.4 Investment planning in collaboration with internal and external partners to maximise resources and develop preventative and sustainable models of support. Where appropriate, work with local partners within the Greater Brighton Region and beyond to scale investment and support.
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