15 September 2011: The Government’s Warm Front scheme offers a package of heating and insulation measures of up to £3,500 for people on income-related benefits. To be eligible you must own your home or rent it from a private landlord. The latest annual report for Warm Front was published yesterday and, as with last year, London came bottom regionally (England only) in terms of support delivered by the programme in all but one measure. Specifically:
- Total number of households assisted 8,849 (7 per cent of the total assisted in 2010/11)
- Total number of heating measures 6,056 (5.8 per cent of total assisted)
- Total number of insulation measures 2,427 (6.1 per cent of total assisted)
The one area where the programme delivered better in London than elsewhere was with respect to Benefit Entitlement Checks (BEC) where the average weekly increase in benefits achieved was £37.27, a good 20 per cent more than the next highest region. This would provide a total increase in unclaimed benefits to those London households of £1,938 a year.
As part of the outcome of the ‘Spending Review 2010’ Government reduced funding to Warm Front to provide a smaller more ‘targeted’ scheme for the next two years (with no information as to whether the programme will continue past 2012). With the relative success of Warm Front in London on BECs, it is disappointing to note that the Annual Report states that this new streamlined Warm Front programme “will no longer provide benefit entitlement checks. Given the reduction in the budget for the scheme, the decision was taken to focus on measures that can deliver immediate heat and warmth into customers’ homes, as well as potentially lowering their energy bills. Customers will still be signposted to other services and stakeholders that provide access to benefits advice, such as Citizens Advice.”