The Walsall Borough has significant numbers of residents living in fuel poverty (13.7% as at 2017) and in homes which are expensive to heat. The Council were anxious to ensure that as many fuel poor residents as possible qualified for funding to benefit from measures such as free loft and cavity wall insulation and subsidised boiler replacement.
An Ecoflex statement was developed and approved extending qualification to those residents who earned £28,000 or less and lived in a home which is expensive to heat or had a health condition which was aggravated by living in a cold home.
The challenge: To deliver energy efficiency works to residents in the Walsall Borough who do not qualify for eco funding but are in fuel poverty or have health conditions which are impacted by living in a cold home.
The solution: Developing an Ecoflex Statement to broaden the qualification rules for energy efficiency works;
- Developing a communication strategy to maximise take-up of ECO-Flex including:
- Making every contact count – for example promoting ECO-Flex to those applying for a disabled facility grant
- Directly marketing ECO-Flex to private landlords;
- Web-site updates including listing those contractors who have helped more than 10 households
- Training all staff in being able to promote and answer questions on ECO-flex. A benefit has been to ensure the team are all trained in the NEA City and Guilds Energy Awareness Training
The impact (including cost savings/income generated if applicable): More than 800 residents of Walsall have benefitted from energy efficiency measures. The scheme has generated more than £1.1 Million of investment in the Borough with only administrative costs to the Council. It is also notable that the take-up by private landlords in Walsall is higher than the national level (23% of Ecoflex in Walsall is private rented compared to 14% nationally).
How is the new approach being sustained? The current Ecoflex statement runs up to 31st March 2022 and remains under review to ensure its continued relevance and effectiveness.
Lessons learned: It is important to have a clearly defined and easy to understand Ecoflex statement. The management and due diligence in relation to contractors are also important elements.
Contact: Mark England [email protected]