Welcome from Christine McGourty

As we shiver through one of the coldest starts to the winter in living memory, it’s no surprise that the Home Heat Helpline has been inundated by calls from customers asking for help to keep warm and save money on their energy bills, with over 7,000 calling the Helpline this week alone. This Arctic snap coincides with the launch of our winter campaign revealing the barriers preventing millions of customers missing out on free insulation grants and reduced tariffs.

In this latest newsletter we reveal the details of our New Policy Institute research into eligibility; we also reveal the hotspot areas where most people are missing out; where we’ve been getting the message across in the media and hearing from Jackie who spoke to ITV Wales about the help she received from the Home Heat Helpline.

Millions missing out on free help from energy companies

New research commissioned by the Home Heat Helpline has revealed that despite tough economic times and the arrival of Arctic weather conditions, millions of people are missing out on free help with their energy bills because they don’t think the assistance on offer is meant for ‘people like me’.

According to the research published by the New Policy Institute (NPI) on behalf of the Home Heat Helpline, there are 5.2 million households across the country that could claim free insulation grants from their energy companies.

With so many people missing out we wanted to understand the barriers that are preventing people coming forward. The NPI, found that one of the biggest barriers is that while 70% of people believe you should claim help if you really need it, they don’t think the help available is intended for them. Other results included:

• Around half (47%) of those surveyed who had not claimed, thought that the assistance on offer was not meant for ‘people like me’

• Two thirds (64%) of those definitely eligible, either didn’t feel they qualified for assistance or were not sure

• Surprisingly, the traditional British “stiff upper lip” is only a problem for a small minority. Only one in five (22%) say they don’t believe in asking for help and even fewer (19%) say they find it embarrassing to ask for assistance

• A third (31%) of under 70s on benefits said they were too embarrassed, compared to 15% of over 70s

• Almost half (45%) believed that the help won’t save much money.

With saving of up to £260 available from free cavity wall and loft insulation it is more important than ever that we get the message out and urge people to see the aid available as an entitlement, rather than just help for those ‘most in need’.

Mervyn Kohler from Age UK joined the HHH team to launch our winter awareness campaign

"Far too many households struggle to keep warm during the winter, yet energy suppliers actually offer various support packages to vulnerable and older households, and the key to getting the extra support is a call to the Home Heat Helpline. The problem is that many people just don't realise they're absolutely entitled to this support. You may not think of yourself as being eligible, but one in five of you are, and it's well worth a quick phone call to find out what's on offer from the energy suppliers - for free."

Britain’s eligibility hotspots

As part of our recent research, we also looked at the hotspots where the greatest proportion of residents are missing out on free insulation.

The NPI found people living in South Wales or on the South Coast of England are the most likely to be eligible for energy help. Four of the ten local authorities with the highest number of eligible claimants are in South Wales (Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly and Neath Port Talbot). This reflects the high proportion of local residents receiving benefits and also the housing stock, as the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) scheme only targets those who own their own home or rent privately.

Five coastal areas across the South Coast of England are also hotspots, (Torbay, Tendring, West Somerset, Thanet and Christchurch), due to the high number of elderly residents who qualify without means testing because they are over 70.

The top 10 hotspots in Britain are:
• Blaenau Gwent (33%)
• Merthyr Tydfil (32%)
• Torbay UA (31%)
• Tendring (31%)
• Neath Port Talbot (31%)
• West Somerset (31%)
• Knowsley (31%)
• Caerphilly (31%)
• Thanet (30%)
• Christchurch (30%)

For more information please read the full NPI report.

Jackie from Cardiff

“I am single Mum of three and one of my children has special needs, so it’s important that I keep the whole house warm.

“I’ve struggled with managing my bills in the past and have opted to pay on a weekly card meter for both my gas and electricity. I always make sure that I top up the card when I get paid, before I even buy food for my family. Still, I pay around £900 per year on electricity and £700 for gas, which is very high.

“I often make the children turn the heating down and sit on the sofa with a quilt when it’s cold, because I know I won’t be able to afford more energy.

“A friend recommended I call the Home Heat Helpline on 0800 33 66 99. The advisor was very helpful and really understood my situation. They told me that I will be entitled to a £100 rebate off my bills in January.

“This was great news as my energy payments are always higher in the winter. It will also come in handy as the bills start to mount up after Christmas.

“I would recommend other single parents call the Home Heat Helpline if they are worried about their energy bills. Any savings will make a real difference.”

Media campaign highlights

Our national media launch generated some excellent coverage for the campaign in the Sun, the Daily Mirror and the Telegraph as well as BBC Breakfast, Radio 5 Live, Radio 2, ITV Wales, Sky News Radio and across many regional press and radio titles. Mervyn Kohler from Age UK kindly agreed to join us in the radio studio for our launch day interviews which was key in getting our message across and in reassuring readers and listeners that the help available really is for them and really should be taken up.

In the New Year we will be joined by Coronation Street’s Kym Marsh who will speak from her own experience as a single mum to help us get the message out through the national and consumer media.