Asthma 20 Cardiovascular 20 Limited mobility 19 pain 17 Mental health 17 Cancer 3 Disability 2 Falls 1 Dementia 1 Haemoglobinopathies 1 Autoimmune 1 Head injuries 1 Osteoporosis 1 Diabetes 1 Age Age is often used as a proxy for health condition: older people are more likely to suffer from conditions which make them more vulnerable to cold and have always accounted for the majority of excess winter deaths. More and more schemes however are starting to consider fuel poverty as an affecting all ages and influenced more by health and income than by age itself. Income Low incomes are usually (but not always) a contributing factor to fuel poverty, and local authorities in particular are used to targeting based on proxies for low income, such as receipt of certain benefits. These have also been commonly used criteria for national and energy company grant schemes. However, some scheme managers reported that there has been an increase in working adults who are on low incomes but not on benefits, and that these groups may fall outside standard eligibility criteria based on benefits. To avoid this, you may choose to set an income floor, a level below which anyone will be eligible for support. Tenure Schemes often target specific services (e.g., grants) based on housing tenure. For local authorities, the emphasis is often on private sector housing given social housing tends to have higher standards, their own drivers for improvements and less funding available. Changes to grant regimes, however, can lead to other tenures becoming eligible. It is worth ensuring that you have strong relationships with local housing providers both to maximise these opportunities but also to avoid duplicating efforts in reaching the same householders. Requirements of the funder Some of the schemes in the research had been specifically set up in the past year to deliver a grant-funded project. For these, their objectives and criteria were almost totally driven by the requirements of funders (though there would be some alignment with local priorities). These criteria might relate to health, age, income or tenure. Some criteria were used by schemes in this research, and it is interesting to acknowledge not these:
Asthma 20 Cardiovascular 20 Limited mobility 19 pain 17 Mental health 17 Cancer 3 Disability 2 Falls 1 Dementia 1 Haemoglobinopathies 1 Autoimmune 1 Head injuries 1 Osteoporosis 1 Diabetes 1 Age Age is often used as a proxy for health condition: older people are more likely to suffer from conditions which make them more vulnerable to cold and have always accounted for the majority of excess winter deaths. More and more schemes however are starting to consider fuel poverty as an affecting all ages and influenced more by health and income than by age itself. Income Low incomes are usually (but not always) a contributing factor to fuel poverty, and local authorities in particular are used to targeting based on proxies for low income, such as receipt of certain benefits. These have also been commonly used criteria for national and energy company grant schemes. However, some scheme managers reported that there has been an increase in working adults who are on low incomes but not on benefits, and that these groups may fall outside standard eligibility criteria based on benefits. To avoid this, you may choose to set an income floor, a level below which anyone will be eligible for support. Tenure Schemes often target specific services (e.g., grants) based on housing tenure. For local authorities, the emphasis is often on private sector housing given social housing tends to have higher standards, their own drivers for improvements and less funding available. Changes to grant regimes, however, can lead to other tenures becoming eligible. It is worth ensuring that you have strong relationships with local housing providers both to maximise these opportunities but also to avoid duplicating efforts in reaching the same householders. Requirements of the funder Some of the schemes in the research had been specifically set up in the past year to deliver a grant-funded project. For these, their objectives and criteria were almost totally driven by the requirements of funders (though there would be some alignment with local priorities). These criteria might relate to health, age, income or tenure. Some criteria were not used by schemes in this research, and it is interesting to acknowledge these:
The-Health-of-the-Nation-Guidance-for-Fuel-Poverty-Scheme-Managers-July-2017.docx