Kirklees Warm Zone key impacts and learning

Phil WebberHead of Environment Unit

Strategic Investment and Regeneration

What was Kirklees Warm Zone?• Unique, the first in the UK to offer FREE

insulation to all

• Three year programme with £21m investment

• Targeted every household

• Something for everyone

• Free insulation – all suitable homes, irrespective of size, income or tenure

• Heating systems – eligibility criteria

Warm Zone Outputs

• More than 51,000 Homes insulated

• 126 Jobs directly created

• Carbon savings of over 900,000 tonnes

• £0.7 million increased benefit claims confirmed

• 45,000 household referrals – for benefits, fire safety, water conservation, carers

support and housing loans.

Warm Zone Benefits – Environment, Economy, Housing and Health

PartnershipImpact on national government

thinking.

Influence on other area based initiatives – around the country.

Impacts were more than the sum of the funding parts;

Learning has been shared nationally and internationally.

Health Output Headlines• £5-6 million of estimated savings for the NHS;• 129,986 CO monitors distributed;• 9,896 smoke detectors installed and 5,838 fire safety checks

carried out;• 3012 referrals made to Carers Gateway for support for long

term carers;• PCT referred 526 residents into Warm Zone ahead of

schedule;• Participants in focus groups reported direct benefits – reduced

doctor and hospital visits and reduced medication.

Major Areas of Impact• Improved mental health wellbeing as a result of

insulation work:– Impacts on adult mental health significant and

consistent across almost all studies.• Improved physical health from heating grants.

– Impacts on physical health for whole house upgrades “return of 23-42p in the £1 investment”

• Lives saved and reduced injuries from smoke and CO detectors.

•

Safelincs was chosen to supply and part distribute more than 129,000 Carbon Monoxide Alarms.

More than 95% of homes requested a monitor.

Over 46,000 of these were shipped to individual residents.

• New 7 Year Warranty

• Fully Branded Product

• Fully Branded Packaging

• Dedicated Help Guides in Multiple Languages

Customer Engagement Key issues:•Partnership approach to marketing, consistent branding.•Strong marketing throughout the scheme.•Similarity of the scheme’s name to other national programmes.•A commitment to capture customer feedback.•The challenges of customer contact and keeping customers happy.•Offer of additional services – such as CO monitors, benefits advice, low energy light bulbs.

Kirklees Press Release 13/01/2010

When Sophia Crawshaw, a resident in Marsh, got her free detector and turned it on, it immediately detected a dangerous carbon monoxide leak in her home.

‘As soon as I put the batteries in it went berserk! ‘The gas man turned up the next day and after running a full check he turned round and said “I don’t know how you’re not dead love, with the amount of carbon monoxide coming out! It’s unbelievable!”

headline economic benefit

• From an initial investment of £21m - a net social benefit of £80 million over 5 years

• At least £250m over 40 years

• Possibly worth as much as £1bn !

– (inflating energy prices)

Warm Zone net benefit

short- term benefits

• Payback on investment within five years.

• Jobs created or protected £39m.

• House value - increase £730/house - £38m.

• £4 million of energy bill savings after three years, an average of £76 per home.

• £0.7- 1.6 million in additional benefit claims for vulnerable people/families.

long-term benefits (40 years)

• £156m, (no inflation on energy prices) from continued savings on house-holder energy bills. Could be worth £300m – £1bn !

• £5.3m saving to NHS (mental health and wellbeing)

• Carbon emissions reduction - £30m – 22,000 tonnes/year – 900,000 tonnes over 40 years

(2008 Kirklees domestic emissions 956,000 tonnes so WZ=2.2% reduction) 50% of the original projected energy savings are now assumed to be taken as comfort ie in

a warmer home; this is in line with government (OFGEM) assumptions.

Warm Zone net benefit