Overcoming fuel poverty requires a holistic approach
Fuel poverty. It’s something we’re hearing more and more about.
We’re constantly reminded that inflation is going up and more people are struggling. Yes, there’s a need to deal with the immediacy of the situation. But there’s also a need to think about how we support our customers - and the longevity of what we, and others, do.
Statistics from the UK Poverty Report present a sobering analysis of where the country is currently. There is a staggering number of people in work who are reliant on benefits. And with poverty on the up and prices rising, forecasts suggest that the average household is set for a £1.5k real term cut in their annual income.
This doesn’t bode well for our customers and those most in need.
Not being able to heat your home can have a profound impact on your quality of life.
We believe that everyone deserves to live in a property which is good quality and affordable to run. And if you look across Sovereign, you’ll see our approach to overcoming fuel poverty is holistic for this reason.
Last month we launched our new Customer Support Fund. Between now and 2024 we’ll be setting aside £1.5 million each year to provide targeted support to our customers who are most affected by the cost-of-living crisis.
We’re putting more money into our existing Helping Hand Fund which provides vouchers to those in crisis. Our team is also providing more emergency fuel vouchers as well as doubling our funding agreement with Pocket Power.
All of this will mean that more customers will benefit and have access to better deals and discounts on gas and electric, water, broadband and mobile bills.
The demand on our services is high, but we’ve listened and provided more targeted support - carefully balancing what we offer against what we need to continue investing in our customers’ homes.
These are just some of our short-term interventions to help our most vulnerable customers experiencing fuel poverty and in a state of crisis.
To address fuel poverty we know there’s often a need to provide immediate intervention to help customers out of crisis. But as soon as we’ve done this, we turn our attention to longer term solutions.
How our customers can sustain themselves in the future either by finding work – or better paid work is key. Our employment and training team will look at how they can help and what opportunities they can explore.
Then we start to look many years down the line.
Housing associations have a vital role to play when it comes to addressing fuel poverty. Not only do they provide that immediate safety net and route out of crisis, but in the case of Sovereign we build new homes and retrofit existing ones. By improving and investing in our customers’ homes, we help to reduce how susceptible our customers are to changes in energy prices. It’s an important, but often overlooked point.
There aren’t many organisations that can say they are taking a truly holistic approach to addressing fuel poverty. Housing associations like Sovereign, which provide welfare, access to employment opportunities, and build homes for the future are one of the many few doing exactly that.