Wakefield Council and its partners are committed to the provision of affordable warmth for all households and the end of fuel poverty. The Council is working in partnership with several agencies including Wakefield District Housing, Social Services, WDPCT, Energy Efficiency Advice Centre, Age Concern, Pension Service, West Yorkshire Fire Service, VOX and VAWD.

Launched in March 2007 the Affordable Warmth Strategy 2007-2010 sets out a co-ordinated approach to address the problems of cold, damp homes. Developed over 2 years, the Strategy has been shaped by a Steering Group of local partners with the guidance of National Energy Action (NEA) and input from service providers and community groups through a series of workshops.

The Strategy includes an Action Plan broken in to five core themes. These themes address the key areas of activity required to tackle fuel poverty in the Wakefield District and bring the Strategy in line with regional and national affordable warmth best practice. Successful implementation of the Strategy will increase the quality of life for Wakefield residents by improving health, social and financial well-being of the most vulnerable people in the community.

The Affordable Warmth Strategy is available under 'Downloads'.

Strategy Action Plan Overview

The Strategy Action Plan is divided into five themes as follows:

1.  Raise Awareness of Affordable Warmth amongst Key Agencies

This theme focuses on raising the profile of fuel poverty and of the Strategy through promotions and research with the objective of ensuring cross partnership commitment and better fuel poverty awareness.

2.  Improve Public Awareness of Affordable Warmth Issues and Assistance

This theme addresses the need to raise public awareness of affordable warmth benefits and assistance through effective publicity, community based marketing and accessible information.

3. Achieve Affordable Warmth through Improved Partnerships

To successfully tackle fuel poverty key agencies must work together, pooling resources and sharing information. This theme aims to improve affordable warmth co-operation and mainstreaming of fuel poverty within key agencies.

4. Improve Health through Affordable Warmth

The Health Service has a fundamental role to play in the fight against fuel poverty. This theme addresses the need to raise awareness and implement procedures in the WDPCT to identify people in fuel poverty.

5. Making Wakefield’s Homes Warmer

Improving a homes energy efficiency rating to SAP 65 will often remove the occupant from fuel poverty. This theme focuses on initiatives to install and encourage the installation of energy efficiency measures in all tenures.

Partnership working will be the key to success and will provide a framework for the actions in the Strategy. The Wakefield Local Area Agreement now provides additional impetus and resources to help tackle fuel poverty.

Members from the Steering Group have now formed the Affordable Warmth Implementation Group (AWIG) who will oversee the implementation and monitoring of the Strategy.

Monitoring Strategy Performance

It is essential to keep a track of Strategy implementation and progress. As mentioned the AWIG will oversee the delivery of the Strategy. It will meet four times a year to review Strategy actions and make sure effective progress is being made progress towards eradicating fuel poverty in the District.

It is also important to not only monitor the actions but to measure the actual impact of the Strategy upon levels of fuel poverty. Therefore the Council commissioned a detailed fuel poverty research programme to provide this information.

Wakefield Affordable Warmth Strategy 2007-2010 Targets 

Core 2007-2010 strategy aim to cut fuel poverty by 35% by 2010

2007 Fuel poverty baseline of households in fuel poverty = 24,240 (18.2%)

(Please note this is a revised rate and slightly lower than the figures quoted in the Wakefield Affordable Warmth Strategy 2007-2010 document).

Targets:

2008 = 21,332 households or 16.0% (12% reduction on baseline)

2009 = 18,665 households or 14.0% (23% reduction on baseline)

2010 = 15,756 households or 11.8% (35% reduction on baseline)

As fuel poverty progress is monitored it will be displayed here.