Fuel poverty

The Government has placed social housing upgrades at the centre of its new £15 billion Warm Homes Plan, unveiled today as part of a decade‑long effort to cut bills, tackle fuel poverty and modernise Britain’s ageing housing stock.

Ministers say the programme will deliver the largest investment in social housing energy efficiency in a generation, with a major share of funding directed towards improving cold, damp and inefficient homes across the sector.

As the unforgiving winter months plough steadily ahead, landlords play a crucial role in ensuring the well-being of their tenants and maintaining the longevity of their properties. The responsibility extends beyond merely providing a roof over their heads – it involves preparing them for the challenges that the colder seasons can bring. In the UK, the issue of fuel poverty further underscores the significance of landlords actively engaging in initiatives to make their properties winter-ready. Housing Association Magazine’s Joe Bradbury discusses:

Charis CEO and chairman Graham Ayres outlines the winter preparations the company is making to help housing associations with administering support grants for their more vulnerable residents.

The good news is in - Ofgem has decreased the energy price cap to its lowest level since March 2022. A seven per cent drop to £1925 will potentially be followed by a further drop to £1823 in October according to Cornwall Insight. This is great news for householders who can finally see some breathing space.

However, the landscape is not going to change for millions of residents who are still falling through the cracks when it comes to balancing income with outgoings which continue to be disproportionately high.

Last year was elemental’s first as part of InstallerSHOW and, as our content takes shape for the 2023 event, it’s clear our focus on decarbonising buildings has never been more important.
With three days of inspiring and informative discussion on all the latest approaches to creating buildings that are ready for net zero, the elemental content theatres at InstallerSHOW 2023 will give visitors the tools and the connections to decarbonise existing buildings and new developments.

The Housing Safety & Wellbeing Taskforce with founding member Aico and in conjunction Cebr are launching a seminal piece of research into the human impact of fire and how the different legislations across the four nations impacts the prevalence of fire.

Richard Bishop, Head of Marketing for UK and Ireland at Panasonic Heating & Cooling Solutions, calls for social housing providers to tackle fuel poverty by collaborating to deliver more sustainable energy solutions for the homes of the future.

Social housing can help reduce society’s carbon footprint with renewables

The United Kingdom has set a legal goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. To achieve this, the government wants to increase household energy efficiency and transition to greener heating methods by the end of the decade, halving the energy use of new builds.

Considering 40% of UK emissions come from households, it’s clear to see that our homes have an important part to play in meeting the 2030 emissions reductions.

In 2020, around 4 million houses were occupied by households socially renting.

This just goes to show how big a role housing associations and local authorities will play in tackling the climate crisis.