09:35-09:45 Spotlight on: Growing up in a cold home

Penny Walters from Feeding Britain, opened the conference with a reading of her poem, Voice, urging us to use our voices, to speak up for those without a voice.

09:45-10:15 Welcome address and reflections

NEA Chief Executive, Adam Scorer, took to the stage to welcome us, and highlight the power of lived experience, such as that of Penny Walters. Adam says ‘lived experience doesn’t just inform what we do, it defines what we do.’

10:15-10:40 45 years of fighting fuel poverty

Dr. Brenda Boardman literally defined fuel poverty in her 1991 book, “Fuel Poverty: From Cold Homes to Affordable Warmth” in which she stated fuel poverty exists where a household has to spend more than 10% of their income to keep warm. While other definitions of fuel poverty have existed since this time, she states hers remains the only definition that can be used on the doorstep. In thinking back over the past 45 years, she said “fuel poverty was bad in 1980 and unrecognised. Fuel poverty is bad now, but at least it is recognised.”

Ian Preston of CSE declared area-based action is needed to continue the fight against fuel poverty: National advice isn’t enough.

11.15-11.25 Spotlight on: Community Retrofit Hubs

NEA manages several Community Retrofit Hubs, and their Home Retrofit Consultant Aisling McGovern provided an overview of the barriers and successes, highlighting how little knowledge there is in the community about retrofit measures, the length of time it takes to engage with residents, build trust, and get contractors to deliver the work, often with tight deadlines due to stop-start funding streams.

Aisling stressed the requirement of local energy advice experts to hold the hand of residents, through the journey and beyond.

11.25-12.30 Warm Homes Plan – will it deliver?

NEA’s Andrej Miller introduced a topic that most of us in the room were particularly keen to hear about, as the Warm Homes Plan had only recently been published, and there were several notable gaps in the plan, including details around the financial support for residents deemed “able to pay” by government, and also whether there’s any room for we assembled energy advisors within the £15bn programme.

Jessica Skilbeck from Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, provided an executive summary of the plan, as well as some of the “next steps” including when we might see funding for air-to-air heat pumps

There were many fears in the room that government’s declared “Warm Homes Agency” would try to replicate all of our work, from a central location nationally, which would be helpful only to those few people who. Jessica tried to allay these fears, by stating that the Warm Homes Agency is only intended to bring together the advice currently offered by DESNZ, OFGEM, and Salix, to save some money, and ensure there’s a single message from government around retrofit.

Abigail Ward from Energy Saving Trust was keen to point out that local energy advice is required, and suggested a single national telephone number could be promoted, that diverts callers to a local agency who can provide expert advice and support. We remember delivering

14.00-15.15 Retrofit: More than just the measures

In this breakout session, Lorenza Casini from Manchester-based Carbon Co-op, dispelled some myths, including the idea that vulnerable residents don’t care about the environment. However, for people who just want to live in a warm, safe home, carbon reduction may simply be a side-effect for them when reducing their bills.

Lisa Beaney, from Green Isle of Wight CIC finds “carbon” doesn’t resonate with her residents, and focuses instead on making homes warm. She agrees that what is needed to achieve national retrofit and Net Zero targets, is high quality, in-home energy and retrofit advice. She went on to say these expert advisors need to be independent, not the Council, and not the Housing Association.

15.45-15.50 Spotlight on: A day in the life of an adviser

Rebecca Maddock is one of NEA’s Energy Advisors, and just like our team of friendly experts, she spends a great deal of her time speaking with vulnerable residents living through horrendous situations. The advice is mainly provided over the telephone, and the client has one named casework advisor, who will stay with them until the situation is resolved. 

15.50-16.50 Little lives, big struggles: The hidden toll of fuel poverty on children

This session carried a trigger-warning, as the discussion included mentions of self-harm, and details of children suffering in cold, damp homes.

We heard case studies from children who had engaged with NEA and provided their lived experience, and we came away with the headline “fuel poverty = child poverty = poverty” for us all to remember in our daily work.

09.30-10.10 Session 5: Ministerial Address

Martin McCluskey MP, Minister for Energy Consumers, joined us via video-link, to address the audience and outline the three forms of action being taken by government:

1. Immediate Action: £150 will be removed from everybody’s energy bill from the 1st of April, as the costs associated with retrofit will now be paid by general taxation, as opposed to levies on bills.
2. Structural action: The £15bn Warm Homes Plan will lift 1m households out of fuel poverty, by 2030.
3. Systemic action: Overhauling the system so we never again have substandard insulation installed, so landlords will improve existing homes, and so new homes are built future-proofed.

Adam Scorer read out some questions that had been posed by delegates ahead of the conference, including:

Q) How do we prioritise children and patients with chronic health conditions?

A) The changes we’re making will have a positive impact on their lives.

10.10-11.10 Shaping regional solutions to fuel poverty

This session focused on how different Combined Authorities are approaching their Warm Homes Local Grant schemes

12:00-12.10 Spotlight on: Fuel poverty in the North East

Duncan Oliphant made clear that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach that works to tackle fuel poverty. The challenges faced in the North East may be similar to those elsewhere, but they can also be very different. 

12.10-12:50 Session 7: Partners’ panel

We spent quite a while debating social tariffs, as so many of us in the room work with vulnerable residents who would be glad of any additional, financial support with their bills. While I would happily welcome a new, additional social tariff, I’ve been around long enough to remember when we did have social tariffs for energy: Each energy supplier could choose their own eligibility, and the support they wished to offer. OFGEM decided to regulate them, so there was one standard offer. This came with a new name, “Warm Home Discount” and it’s now been around for 15 years, knocking £150 off the annual bills of vulnerable customers.

12:50-13.30 Final remarks

Adam Scorer provided a short reflection on the conference. We’ve received the Warm Homes Plan, the revised Fuel Poverty Strategy, and the Child Poverty Strategy. Now we’re all moving together, from strategy to delivery.