Yorkshire & Humber

Yorjshire & Humber region Image of North East Region Image of North West Region Image of Yorkshire and Humber Region Image of West Midlands Region Image of East Midlands Region Image of South West Region Image of South East Region Image of Eastern Region Image of London Region

Background:

 

NEA has recently established its Yorkshire and the Humber regional office based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. NEA also hosts area offices in North Yorkshire and Huddersfield. In recent years NEA has built up a network of contacts in the region and acts as a focus for information on fuel poverty and affordable warmth policy and practice in the region.

Key Regional Partnerships:

  • Regional affordable warmth activity in Yorkshire and the Humber is primarily facilitated and directed through Make Fuel Poverty History, the region’s affordable warmth action plan. NEA is a member of the Implementation Group that is responsible for delivering the aims and objectives of the action plan along with agencies such as Government Office for Yorkshire & the Humber, the Yorkshire & Humber Assembly, NHS Yorkshire & the Humber, the Department of Health, the Housing Corporation and many others.
  • NEA sits on the Advisory Board to Community Energy Solutions (CES) Yorkshire & Humber.  CES aims to make a difference to the lives of people in their communities by making their homes more energy efficient, healthy, comfortable and durable, and their heating more affordable.

Current work programme:

In accordance with NEA's business plan, NEA continues to expand its work in the region by:

  • Increasing NEA’s involvement at the regional level to promote implementation of the Government's Fuel Poverty Strategy
  • Further development of Affordable Warmth Strategies with local authorities, assisting those with strategies to implement, monitor and review them and helping authorities to move towards the establishment of Warm Zones
  • Expansion of consultancy services for local authorities, housing providers and other organisations
  • Promotion of energy champions within Primary Care Trusts and community and voluntary organisations
  • Establishment of skills centres
  • Further developing technical projects
  • Continuing a proactive regional fuel poverty forum

Examples of current policy and practice development activity include:

Practical projects:

Regional affordable warmth activity

NEA has secured funding from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Kirklees Energy Services (KES) to deliver a range of tasks that will support the regional affordable warmth action plan.  2008/09 activities include:

  • To link to the Primary Care Trusts and improve the understanding and referral network between housing and health sectors
  • To assist local authorities in meeting fuel poverty related LAA targets by advising and supporting the development of baseline data.
  • Compare fuel poverty related LAA targets between each local authority identifying gaps and providing advice about ‘gap-plugging’.
  • Maintain relationships with regional agencies and other relevant organisations to ensure that affordable warmth and the eradication of fuel poverty continues to be considered relevant to their work.
  • Participate in and provide support to the Implementation Group for the Regional Affordable Warmth Action Plan for Yorkshire & the Humber.
  • To encourage the take up of the Government’s Warm Front grant across the region and support local authority/Warm Front liaison.

All activities funded through this project will be carried out in liaison with appropriate local and national agencies.

Policy development:

Affordable Warmth Consultancy

Building on previous work across the region affordable warmth consultancy work is currently being taken forward with:

  • Wakefield MDC
  • Kirklees MC

Regional policy matrix

NEA maintains a regional policy matrix for the nine regions in England, including Yorkshire and Humberside. The matrix highlights current fuel poverty commitments across a broad range of strategies and allows NEA to monitor the progress of implementation activity. The matrices are reviewed and updated bi-annually, which also provides an opportunity to map progress in commitments at a regional level to meet national fuel poverty targets. For further details contact NEA's Regional Co-ordinator.

Regional fuel poverty briefing

NEA has produced a bi-annual regional fuel poverty briefing which aims to highlight the extent of fuel poverty in England and to consider how fuel poverty commitments and activity at a regional level can support national priorities to make affordable warmth a reality for low-income and other vulnerable households.  The briefing builds upon NEA's regional policy matrix which tracks strategic policy commitments within each region as a means of identifying opportunities to promote action on affordable warmth at a regional level. See Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Fuel Poverty Briefing.

Technical projects:

For more information on technical projects in the region please contact the Regional Co-ordinator (contact details below)

Forthcoming Events:

Yorkshire & the Humber Fuel Poverty Forum

NEA holds regional Fuel Poverty Forums three times per year throughout England. The Fuel Poverty Forums are targeted at strategic policy makers and front line service providers and aim to:

  • Showcase innovation and best practice
  • Promote dialogue and discussion on a wide range of sectoral issues
  • Help NEA shape policy developments and campaigns

See NEA’s Events Diary for forthcoming meetings or contact NEA’s Regional Co-ordinator for details.

'Spotlight on fuel poverty' seminars

The seminar will explore opportunities for regional agencies to take a leading role in addressing fuel poverty challenge via future integrated strategies.  The seminars will bring together senior policy makers with representatives from organisations working on the ground to deliver solutions to fuel poverty and will be targeted at representatives from local authorities, community and voluntary sector organisations, the business sector, health sector, regional development agencies, and regional agencies/groups with an interest in energy efficiency and fuel poverty.  For more information see the Events Diary

Contact details:

For more information on NEA’s current activities or advice on consultancy or partnership development projects in Yorkshire and the Humber please contact Kath McDaid, Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Co-ordinator at NEA on 01484 351 773 or email kath.mcdaid@nea.org.uk

To contact NEA’s Operations Manager based at the Huddersfield area office contact Lorraine Donaldson on 01484 223 489 or email lorraine.donaldson@nea.org.uk

To contact NEA’s Project Co-ordinator based at the North Yorkshire area office contact Diane Bland on 01609 883 918 or email diane.bland@nea.org.uk