MAKING ENERGY BETTERAn investigation into the energy challenges faced by rural communities in Dorset

PROJECT TEAM

Bob Pulleybank, Karen Spurr, Tim Smith

May 2016

Purbeck Citizens Advice , Mill Lane, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 4RACharity No: 1068414 Company Limited by Guarantee No:3510199

Contents

Acknowledgements

Executive Summary

1. Introduction

2. Background

3. Difficulties experienced in off-gas areas of Dorset

4. Evidence of the impact of living in off-gas areas of Dorset

5. Support and Advice available to Fuel Poor households in Dorset

6. Conclusions

7. Recommendations

Appendices

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the Dorset Local Citizens Advice offices who completed the questionnaire and provided information on specific issues with fuel poverty in their areas.

Information from previous studies by the Centre for Sustainable Energy for Citizens Advice and DECC has been used to give the background to fuel poverty. Information from the Healthy Homes Dorset project has been used to help draw conclusions and recommendations for future action.

We would also like to thank the following organisations for their time in answering our questions and discussing off-gas energy issues: Jon Bird - Dorset County Council, Phil Neale - Wessex Energy Advice Centre, Lisa Poole - Myconsortium oil club, Mike Scott – Shroton Oil Club, Caroline Buxton – Citizens Advice in Dorset, Simon Thompson – Dorset Community Action, Robbie Stevenson – Southern Gas Networks, Stephanie Lloyd-Foxe – Magna Housing.

Page 2 of 24

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Citizens Advice awarded funding to Citizens Advice in Dorset (CAiD) to deliver a project through the “Making Energy Better” campaign which seeks to ‘address the unique and often disproportionate energy challenges faced by rural communities’.

The funding has enabled CAiD to produce the Energy Referral Toolkit shown in Appendix 5 which is now available for advice providers on the Advice Dorset website. The 7 rural Citizens Advice (CA) offices in Dorset have been funded to promote and share this Toolkit with their Local Advice Networks. Purbeck CA has also been funded to investigate the impact of being off-gas in rural Dorset.

This report presents the findings of this investigation with specific references to the difficulties faced by households living in off-gas areas, the impact on individuals and families in the form of case studies, and a summary of the advice and support available to these households.

The underlying causes of Fuel Poverty (low incomes, high fuel prices and poor quality housing) are also the principal drivers for the energy challenges faced by off-gas communities. Consequently, Fuel Poverty statistics have been used to identify the types of property and heating fuels which are likely to lead to households experiencing difficulties in off-gas areas.

The identification of off-gas areas was greatly assisted by the availability of the Non-Gas Map which has been produced by KILN for DECC and National Grid. This interactive map (described in Section 2.2) shows the number of properties in each Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) which are within 23m of a gas main (and entitled to request a gas supply) and those over 23m from a gas main together with a number of data items such as Fuel Poverty, property tenure and fuel used for heating.

Analysis of this data for 37,711 households in West Dorset has shown that there is a direct link between fuel poverty and living in an off-gas area, that there is a less direct link with households living in private rented or rent-free accommodation and a weak link with electric or oil-fired central heating. There was no link between fuel poverty and households living in purpose built or converted flats. The main drivers by Government to reduce fuel poverty have been to promote competitive markets through supplier switching and to improve housing quality through grants for insulation and replacement gas boilers.

These drivers to reduce fuel poverty do not have much impact in rural Dorset due to a number of factors including the poor internet service making it difficult to obtain the most competitive energy prices and the prevalence of private rented accommodation restricting the availability of housing upgrades. This has an adverse impact on households which suffer from reduced use of the house due to only heating a few rooms, and/or an increase in ill-health and poor living conditions due to condensation and mould.

There are local initiatives to improve housing quality for some households (such as Healthy Homes Dorset funded by Public Health Dorset) but it is recommended that a broader approach is taken which co-ordinates actions and offers improvements to heating and housing for private rented and rent-free accommodation (such as loans to purchase bulk fuel stocks or a boiler rental scheme). This would enable significant additional housing improvements compared to current improvement schemes. In addition the way that CA record energy issues could be improved to allow for follow-up and analysis of clients with energy challenges.

Page 3 of 24

There is a proposal to revise the Priority Services Register to allow more specific actions by Distribution companies and this would be an opportunity to refer CA clients direct to these companies and maintain an awareness of their vulnerability.

Page 4 of 24

1. Introduction

1.1 Citizens AdviceCitizens Advice, including Citizens Advice Scotland, provides free, confidential and impartial advice to help people resolve their problems. As the UK’s largest advice provider, Citizens Advice is equipped to deal with any issue, from anyone, spanning debt and employment to housing and immigration plus everything in between. We value diversity, promote equality and challenge discrimination.Citizens Advice represents consumers across essential regulated markets. We are the statutory consumer advocate for energy and postal services in Great Britain, and for water in Scotland. We use compelling evidence and expert analysis to put consumer interests at the heart of policy-making and market behaviour. We have a number of responsibilities, including unique powers to require private and public bodies to disclose information.We tackle issues that matter to consumers, working with people and a range of different organisations to champion creative solutions that make a difference to consumers’ lives.

1.2 Citizens Advice in Dorset (CAID)Citizens Advice in Dorset (CAiD) is a consortium of the nine Citizens Advice Offices based in Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole. Its aim is to ensure that the people of Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole have access to the best possible advice services by promoting the work of Citizens Advice, and by supporting the development and growth of the service.The members of CAiD are the nine local Citizens Advice in the area: Citizens Advice Bournemouth Citizens Advice Bridport Citizens Advice Christchurch Citizens Advice Dorchester & Sherborne Citizens Advice East Dorset Citizens Advice North Dorset Citizens Advice Poole Citizens Advice Purbeck Citizens Advice Weymouth & Portland

CAiD was established as a charity in 2009 to support and develop Citizens Advice services across the local area with a remit to act as a voice for the CAB service, actively seek funding for the network, aim to achieve more efficient working across the Local Offices, work with Local Offices and other partners to develop services for the benefit of our clients, and keep up to date with the external environment and develops relationships with funders.CAiD works closely with the member offices to develop services and respond to emerging needs as well as working with partners across the voluntary and statutory sectors and managing a number of projects1. An example of this activity is the recent launch of the British Gas Energy Trust2 funded “Healthy Homes Partnership” managed

1 Citizens Advice in Dorset https://citizensadvicedorset.org.uk/projects/2 http://www.britishgasenergytrust.org.uk/

Page 5 of 24

by Dorset Community Action. This project aims to provide advice to households not on mains gas, and those with health issues made worse by living in a cold home, or who have other issues such as mental health needs, a household with young children, and those living in emergency accommodation. The project can also make loans and grants to eligible clients. In addition Magna Housing Association (one of the partners) will identify tenants who may benefit from having a wood-burning stove with wood provided from local sustainable woodland.CAiD has played a critical role in developing the significant growth in activity in the Citizens Advice service in Dorset. This has a direct beneficial impact on the people that use the service.

1.3 The Rural Energy ProjectCitizens Advice has provided funding through the “Making Energy Better” campaign to Rural Issues Group members. The funding is intended to enable members to invest in public education as well as raising awareness of the importance of rural energy challenges. Energy is an issue that cuts across a number of other problems like debt, mental health, and access to services and the project will identify and address the unique and often disproportionate energy challenges faced by rural communities in Dorset.

2. Background

2.1. The GB Energy MarketThere have been many attempts to improve competition, transparency and fairness in Great Britain’s energy market over recent years, but there remains a significant group of consumers who are poorly served, including those who use prepayment meters and those who have never switched energy supplier. This significant minority is being systematically disadvantaged by the competitive market, exacerbating problems of energy affordability, fuel poverty and undermining any benefits of reduced costs delivered by energy efficiency programmes. Other consumers find themselves unable to switch suppliers due to outstanding debt, although recent action3 by Ofgem to force suppliers to allow switching with outstanding debt up to £500 is expected to improve this issue.The group of ‘sticky’ customers, who are unable or unwilling to engage in the energy market, remains a concern. Their lack of engagement not only limits the extent to which the market can be considered competitive, but inevitably results in these customers being charged unduly high prices for their energy in comparison to households that participate in the market. Stakeholder initiatives to encourage switching, such as Citizens Advice’s ‘Energy Best Deal’ programme, and wider regulatory attempts to simplify tariff options and improve consumer confidence, such as the Retail Market

3 The Debt Assignment Protocol - https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/decision-make-modifications-gas-and-electricity-supply-licences-reform-switching-process-indebted-prepayment-meter-customers-debt-assignment-protocol

Page 6 of 24

Review (RMR) and Energy Market Review (EMR), 2015 saw no significant increase in overall understanding of tariffs but an increase in switching rates4,5 (Fig 1) although this is still only around 3% of all consumers. The Competitions Market Authority (CMA) review also found some indications that the restricted tariffs had an adverse impact on competition.

Figure 1 – Quarterly Domestic Switching Rates

It is thought that ‘fuel poor’ rural consumers are less likely to be frequent switchers due to their restricted access to the internet as this is the main source of tariff information and also enables lower tariffs through internet management of accounts. In addition the smaller suppliers do not offer the Warm Home Discount and there is some evidence that Economy 7 tariffs are not offered by the new suppliers who are often the most competitive.

4 Ofgem Energy Markets Report 20155 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/quarterly-domestic-energy-switching-statistics updated 31 March 2016

Page 7 of 24

2.2. Government Actions on Fuel PovertyThe energy challenges facing households in rural Dorset are similar to those facing a more general group, defined nationally as those in Fuel Poverty. Fuel Poverty is caused by three factors:

Low incomes;High fuel prices; andHigh demand for fuel due to poor quality housing.

Successive UK governments have had a policy to reduce fuel poverty and the 2000 Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act target was to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016 with a definition based on those spending more than 10% of their income on energy. This target was almost impossible to achieve as although property improvements reduced the demand for fuel, energy prices increased faster than incomes (Fig 2).

Figure 2: Fuel Poverty across UK under 10% definition

Following a review of fuel poverty by Professor Sir John Hills in 2011/12, the current government amended the definition of fuel poverty in England (but not Wales and Scotland which are subject to devolved government regulations) in the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act to those households which have required fuel costs above average (the national median level) and were they to spend that money they would be left with a residual income below the official poverty line (the High Cost/Low Income basis). In reality most low income households do not spend enough of their income on fuel to maintain the “standard” of 210C in the living room and 180C elsewhere.

Page 8 of 24

In March 2015 the Department for Energy & Climate Change (DECC) published a new Fuel Poverty Strategy for England6 and associated Regulations. This document included a legal obligation for as many fuel poor homes as “reasonably practicable” to be raised to a Band C energy efficiency rating by 2030, with interim targets for 2020 and 2025. There is also a specific methodology for measuring energy efficiency in relation to the target7 – but not fuel poverty itself. This methodology uses sophisticated modelling to estimate the number of households in fuel poverty.

This had the effect of reducing the fuel poverty statistics in England from around 2.75 million in 2013 to 2.35 million or approximately 10.4% of all households8. This is down from the estimated peak of 2.57 million in 2009 although the average fuel poverty gap increased from £355 to £374 in line with increasing energy prices. Of these 2.35 million households, it is estimated that 49% have an Energy Efficiency Rating of E or worse. In the South West, it is estimated that approximately 11.5% of households were in fuel poverty with a poverty gap of £447. The analysis by DECC has been carried out at county, local authority and Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) which covers about 1,000 households. The graphical output is included in the Non-Gas Map produced by KILN for DECC and National Grid9 and the data for the Dorset area is shown below in Figure 3 where patches of significant poverty are in darker blue.

Figure 3: Fuel Poverty in DorsetNatural Gas has traditionally been the lowest cost fuel for heating purposes and so households without access to a gas supply (about 37% of Dorset households) are already

6 “Cutting the cost of keeping warm”.7 Fuel Poverty (England) Regulations 2014 and fpeer methodology8 Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics Report 20159 Non-Gas Map https://www.nongasmap.org.uk/

Page 9 of 24

disadvantaged compared with other, mainly urban, areas. Recent energy market turmoil has significantly reduced the cost of heating oil but that is expected to be a fairly short term issue. The average proportion of households in Fuel Poverty (FP) for Dorset as a whole is 10.2% but this varies from 16.5% in some rural LSOA to less than 6% in urban LSOA, although some areas of Bournemouth are as high as 24%.The proportion of properties in each LSOA without a gas supply varies from 95% to 9% in rural West Dorset. Recent changes in the Licence Conditions for Gas Distribution companies now require them to make gas connections free of charge to households living on a range of means tested benefits and within 23m of a suitable gas main. There are specific targets agreed with each company for the number to be completed within the next 5 years but many of these will be in urban areas which are easier to identify.

The main drivers by Government to reduce Fuel Poverty have been to promote competitive markets through supplier switching and to improve housing quality through grants for insulation and replacement gas boilers, neither of which have much impact on households in rural Dorset.As part of the latest Fuel Poverty strategy, the government also introduced or improved a number of initiatives but scrapped the Warm Front scheme:

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) to improve energy efficiency standards in fuel poor homes – estimated to help around 260,000 homes annually to 201710;

Energy Efficiency Rating improvements for privately rented homes – from 1st April 2018 any home which is re-let must meet a minimum rating of ‘E’ and from 1st April 2016 a tenant may request the landlord’s consent to improve the Energy Efficiency Rating and the landlord may not unreasonably refuse;

Multi-agency pilot schemes have been funded in 2015 and 2016 to improve the insulation or heating of homes or clear fuel debts or arrange delivery of fuels, e.g. Healthy Homes projects, ‘Winter Wellbeing” in Cornwall;

More effective targeting of fuel poor households through reduced complexity for ECO, including incentives for delivery to non-gas homes.

The Energy Efficiency Rating Improvement measure should have an impact on households in rural Dorset but this will only be effective if private landlords are encouraged to co-operate with the requirements.

Alarm at the increase in cold-related excess winter deaths caused the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to publish guidelines in 2015 with recommendations that local Health and Wellbeing Boards (HWB) should develop a strategy to address the health consequences of cold homes and commission a single point of contact for health and housing referral services that provide tailored solutions for vulnerable households. Citizens Advice commissioned a review of the implementation of these guidelines by National Energy Action (NEA) which reported in May 201611 and found that fewer than half HWB refer to fuel poverty in their strategies and less than a third refer to excess winter deaths with even fewer completing the

10 https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-future-of-the-energy-company-obligation

11 https://blogs.citizensadvice.org.uk/makingsocietyfairer/files/2016/05/4_5_16_Local-progress-on-tackling-cold-related-ill-health_Final-Report.pdf

Page 10 of 24

necessary implementation guidelines, although some local actions were taking place which were not part of a documented strategy. The NICE recommendations are shown in Appendix 4. The research by NEA assessed the overall performance of all 151 HWBs against 3 criteria allocating scores of 0 to 2 for actions taken on each criteria, giving a maximum score of 6. 9 HWB scored 0, Bournemouth and Poole scored 1, Dorset scored 2 and only 8 scored the maximum of 6.

A recent review of the Priority Services Register by Ofgem12, has found that there is limited awareness of the Priority Services Register (PSR) and there is low uptake of the services. The proposals include the following changes to the existing arrangements:

Amend the eligibility requirements to include more vulnerable customers with energy suppliers offering services to customers in vulnerable situations based on their needs;

Retain the following existing core groups who must be offered services by suppliers: Those of pensionable age, disabled, chronically sick and families with children aged five years and under;

Energy companies (including Distribution Networks) will be expected to identify such customers and offer them appropriate services.

This is a considerable improvement on the current arrangements where suppliers are obliged to provide the services to those who ask and, for the first time, could provide a database of vulnerable customers for other stakeholders.

2.3. Local actions on Fuel Poverty

Analysis of the LSOA data for West Dorset which, at 50.7%, had the highest level of non-gas households in Dorset, (Appendix 1) has shown a strong correlation between fuel poverty and non-gas areas with some correlation between fuel poverty and households in private rented accommodation or rent-free accommodation (accommodation provided to a tenant as part of their current or previous employment or similar). There is a weak correlation between fuel poverty and electric or oil central heating but no correlation with households in purpose built or converted flats which are mainly non-gas properties. These correlations will vary between districts as it is known that Bournemouth has some areas of high fuel poverty which is strongly correlated to purpose built flats.

Further analysis of this data could provide some insight into how and where fuel poverty is located in the rural communities of Dorset. The Dorset “Healthy Homes Dorset” Project sponsored by Public Health Dorset and managed by DCC is a direct result of the NICE guidelines and aims to identify vulnerable households irrespective of income. The project had an initial mailshot target of 3,000 households selected from EPC data and had a response from 1% of the target households at the first attempt, the response increased to about 3% after further extensive marketing by Wessex Energy Advice. This project aims to reduce the negative

12 Priority Services Register Review https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/review-priority-services-register-decision-consult-final-proposals

Page 11 of 24

health impacts of living in a cold home through providing Cavity Wall and Loft Insulation funded by the ECO scheme or other sources.

The Citizens Advice Energy Best Deal project, set up in 2008, and delivered by local CA offices provides presentations to groups of consumers and frontline staff to help consumers to shop around, reduce their bills and get help if they are falling behind with payments. Citizens Advice estimates that by spring 2016 the project had improved the confidence of over 400,000 domestic energy customers across England, Wales and Scotland.

Energy Best Deal Extra was set up in October 2013 as an extension to Energy Best Deal, delivering more in-depth, personalised one-to-one advice appointments with consumers. Across Dorset approximately 400 consumers have benefited (to April 2016) from the project since it started. The majority of the advice appointments covered switching energy supplier or tariff, and other support offered included benefits checks, debt advice, Warm Home Discount or other grant applications, and energy efficiency advice.

There appear to be at least 6 Oil Clubs operating in Dorset (shown in Appendix 3) which offer discounted prices for deliveries on specific dates. These are in addition to the national “The Oil-Club” which (like some others) is a commercial operation, where the operator is paid a commission (c. 1.5p-2p / litre) for organising the orders and arranging deliveries. Others are community based schemes where the commission is used to support community activities. The main advantage of community schemes is that deliveries are co-ordinated, reducing the number of tanker movements on narrow lanes and providing the supplier with an economical delivery round. Commercial oil clubs do not necessarily use local suppliers and this can increase the delivery area, counter-acting the potential saving from bulk ordering. Some suppliers also provide monthly payment schemes to oil clubs, spreading the cost of deliveries across the year. In all cases, the minimum delivery to each household is 500 litres, which is set by the Weights and Measures Act to ensure accurate measurements from the tanker delivery meter. An oil club usually offers the same price for all sizes of delivery.

An example of actions to alleviate the difficulties in off-gas areas has been provided by Magna Housing who have about 2,280 social housing units which are mainly in rural Dorset. Similar actions by private landlords would go a long way to meeting the challenges for their tenants.

Page 12 of 24

Magna uses SAP to measure the thermal efficiency of their homes.  There is a programme to replace all the old and inefficient electric storage heating by the end of 2018 with modern heating systems which will improve the average rating to 68 (E). The cost of improving properties with the lowest SAP will be assessed first and decisions made about what action should be taken. Magna plan to carry out the replacement of inefficient electric night storage heaters to 400 properties in the next 2-3 years in addition to which 200 properties will move from electric night storage heaters to gas in the same period. Magna have also fitted air source heat pumps to 100 properties to improve heating systems under the government funded Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) programme.

In addition, Magna have a programme of window and door replacements and the majority of their properties now benefit from upvc double glazed windows. Magna also replace 40 – 50 roofs each year and when this work is carried out, loft insulation is upgraded to meet current building regulations. There is also a loft insulation top up programme which has been running for a number of years.

 

3. Difficulties experienced in Off-gas areas of DorsetIt was hoped that an analysis of client data in the PETRA (Citizens Advice client management system) database would provide evidence of the difficulties faced by off-gas clients in Dorset. However, the type of heating and any difficulties experienced are not mandatory fields in PETRA or principal reasons for client contact so comments entered by advisors were variable. Consequently, the information below is based on recollections by advisors rather than any rigorous analysis.

3.1 Privately rented homesAnalysis of the LSOA data has shown a correlation between households living in Off-gas areas and households living in rent-free or private rented accommodation. Some CA clients in such accommodation have difficulty in upgrading their homes to a better standard as the landlords are either difficult to contact or provide accommodation at a below market rate.

3.2 Historic and old buildingsDorset has a number of historic buildings and these are particularly difficult to upgrade to modern levels of heat insulation or with modern heating equipment. Some of these will be occupied by tenants with low incomes who are unable to heat them to modern standards. In addition Dorset was an early adopter of cavity wall construction so traditional screening methods have failed to identify a number of properties which could be upgraded with cavity wall insulation.

3.3 Multiple Agency referralsThere is an existing system to collate information for clients of agencies who require multiple actions. This is a “SAIL” form which is co-ordinated by Age UK in Dorchester, however, it requires each intervention to be handled by one of the partner agencies which can lead to “support fatigue” on the part of the client due to the multiple contacts. Dorset Fire & Rescue are providing a wider service as part of their Home Safety check but there can be significant additional contacts.

3.4 Inability to switch supplier

There is some evidence that some consumers are unable to switch supplier and obtain a lower cost electricity supply as they have ‘Economy 7’ heating and this tariff is not available from the new suppliers with low cost tariffs. Previous studies13 have shown that those consumers with pre-payment meters are also disadvantaged.

13 Topping Up or Dropping Out – Citizens Advice, October 2014

Page 13 of 24

Magna uses SAP to measure the thermal efficiency of their homes.  There is a programme to replace all the old and inefficient electric storage heating by the end of 2018 with modern heating systems which will improve the average rating to 68 (E). The cost of improving properties with the lowest SAP will be assessed first and decisions made about what action should be taken. Magna plan to carry out the replacement of inefficient electric night storage heaters to 400 properties in the next 2-3 years in addition to which 200 properties will move from electric night storage heaters to gas in the same period. Magna have also fitted air source heat pumps to 100 properties to improve heating systems under the government funded Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) programme.

In addition, Magna have a programme of window and door replacements and the majority of their properties now benefit from upvc double glazed windows. Magna also replace 40 – 50 roofs each year and when this work is carried out, loft insulation is upgraded to meet current building regulations. There is also a loft insulation top up programme which has been running for a number of years.

A recent referral to the Dorset Healthy Homes project was a vulnerable owner/occupier client struggling to adequately heat their home. It was found that the client’s street will be connected to mains gas later this year at the request of Magna Housing and the client will then be assisted with the installation of new gas heating and insulation.

3.5 Inadequate heating systemsThere is some evidence that some CA clients in fuel poverty have inadequate heating systems that are unable to provide the standard level of heating, even if it was affordable. These systems are often old Electric Night-Storage heaters or old Oil central heating boilers, neither of which are eligible for ECO replacement grants.

3.6 Cost of maintaining fuel suppliesThose households which rely on oil (or wood) for central heating have to purchase a bulk supply at the start or during the heating season. This can require a significant capital outlay, which is beyond some household’s resources. Consequently the central heating is not used and the household relies on inefficient room heating.The capital cost could be alleviated by joining an oil club (getting a reduction in cost for

smaller loads) and setting up a payment plan with the supplier (where the cost is spread across the year). Some Credit Unions offer loans to cover the initial purchase of fuel.

3.7 Cost of improving older propertiesThe cost of improving older properties to at least the energy efficiency band ‘E’ required for rented properties in 2020 has been estimated by the Scottish Government and Housing Associations14 as given in Appendix 2. This shows that significant investment is required in most cases but the reduction in heating costs would justify the investment with a simple payback of between 6 and 8 years. For a private landlord, the cost of the investment would be recovered through an increased rent which could be expected to be offset by the lower heating cost. However, in most cases those on low incomes would not be heating their properties to the required standard, so would not see a corresponding saving in heating costs, possibly leading to more hardship.

14 The Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing http://www.energyefficientsocialhousing.org/

Page 14 of 24

A CA client with 3 electricity meters (2 for off-peak heating) was unable to get competitive quotes due to the metering configuration. After contacting CA the supplier for the non-heating meter provided a reduced tariff for this portion.

A CA client with oil-fired heating was unable to afford the initial 500 litre tank delivery so used room heaters in one or two rooms rather than heat the whole house.

A CA client who is disabled and chronically sick has an old oil-fired heating system which is inadequate to heat the whole house. The property suffers from condensation and mould and the client only uses a few rooms and wears extra clothes in winter.

4. Evidence of the impact of living in Off-gas areas of Dorset

4.1 A cause of Ill-HealthPrevious studies15 have identified inadequate heating as a source of ill-health, particularly in children and older people. In this project there has not been any direct evidence from CA case studies of ill-health although the Healthy Homes Dorset project has identified a number of cases which are being progressed to see if improved insulation (and a warmer home) has a positive impact.

4.2 Deteriorating property conditionInadequate heating and property insulation combined with modern living will usually lead to internal damp and mould problems. The reasons are complex, especially in older properties, and a combination of excess moisture (possibly caused by showers and cooking or a leaking structure) with inadequate heating and ventilation (e.g. broken heating and householders responding to energy advice to stop draughts). Internal damp and mould will, over time, become ingrained in the property structure and major works will be required to alleviate it.

4.3. Difficulty in obtaining solid fuelsCA clients have reported that they have been unable to obtain solid fuels for room heaters, either because they cannot afford to have an initial delivery or because they are unable to collect the fuel due to disabilities. Some households rely on relatives to collect “free” wood from nearby woodlands but this has to be chopped or sawn when collected and the use of unsuitable wood can be hazardous.

15 Heating or Eating in Bath & North East Somerset – B&NES CA, June 2015

Page 15 of 24

A CA client who is chronically sick with wood-burning stoves has to rely on a nephew to collect wood and saw it into manageable pieces.

A CA client on benefits who is disabled has electric heating which is unaffordable. The client wanted to install wood-burning stoves as they have access to free wood. The landlord agreed with this but at the clients cost and they have no resources available.

A CA client living in rent-free accommodation is provided by their employer with wood for wood stoves but there is significant condensation which has to be cleared by opening doors and windows.

5. Conclusions

5.1 The causes of Energy Challenges in Rural DorsetThe three causes of Fuel Poverty (Low incomes, High fuel prices and Poor quality housing) are well known and the energy challenges in rural Dorset are similar. These have been addressed in a number of ways at national and local level. However, none of the current solutions address the main issues in Rural Dorset – the lack of gas networks (so unable to switch supplier or obtain a modern gas boiler) and the large number of private landlords (so unable to obtain property improvements). The impact of the recent changes to law which make it easier for tenants to obtain permission for improvements has yet to be assessed.

5.2 Multiple Agency contactsThere are often multiple actions required for households who have major energy issues. These actions are at present handed to specific agencies for action when they are able to do so. The use of the SAIL form to identify multiple needs should be evaluated to see if additional co-ordination between agencies could reduce the number of contacts.The completion of the Energy Referral Pathway toolkit (Appendix 5) should improve the visibility of the help available.

5.3 The implementation of good adviceThere have been and still are many schemes and projects which offer advice on energy saving and “signpost” householders to relevant organisations who can provide support. However, many of these support organisations rely on funds provided through government sponsored schemes such as ECO which are not applicable to non-gas homes or communities which are not designated as deprived. Those schemes which can support off-gas households with the installation of insulation have often “missed” older properties in Dorset as they were incorrectly assumed to have solid walls when a physical inspection would identify cavity walls. Consequently, there is little support for rural households to improve their properties.

5.4 Financial costs of running existing heatingThere is evidence that some households do not have sufficient funds to purchase bulk fuels such as wood or oil and the Warm Home Discount schemes do not apply to most of these. Whilst some suppliers operate payment schemes, these require the customer to maintain sufficient credit to cover the cost of the bulk purchase. Credit Unions are able to make loans to clients for the initial bulk purchase with repayments to cover the cost over the year but this is not widely available.

5.5 Difficulties in identifying relevant householdsThe Healthy Homes Dorset project has shown that those households with energy challenges cannot be easily identified through modelling from databases such as MOSAIC but EPC and other data (as in the Off-gas map data and the Healthy Homes Dorset project) can be used. However, it has been difficult (due to Data Protection Act issues) to identify and contact specific households (the Healthy Homes Dorset project had a response from about 3% of the target households).

Page 16 of 24

5.6 The Priority Services RegisterThe Priority Services Register (PSR) has been available for over 20 years but has a low take up as it currently relies on vulnerable households asking to be included. Recent proposals from Ofgem will require energy suppliers and distributors to pro-actively identify relevant customers and offer the required services. This group of customers will probably include most of those rural households suffering from energy issues.

6. Recommendations

6.1 Cross-Project supportThere are various projects running in Dorset which can provide financial support to improve heating or housing quality and these projects should be more widely promoted to local CA to ensure the widest possible take-up, e.g. through either a new Fuel Poverty Partnership (FPP) or similar existing forum.

ACTION : CAiD/FPP

6.2 Energy Efficiency Rating improvementsThe existence of the recent change to legislation for privately rented properties should be more widely promoted to the various organisations offering energy advice in Dorset (possibly through the Referral Toolkit) and the impact should be assessed in 2020 to identify privately rented properties which do not met the requirements.

ACTION : CAiD/FPP

6.3 Interaction with Social Housing ProvidersThere are a number of Social Housing providers in rural Dorset and these should be contacted to assess their plans and see if they have any additional insights for alleviating the energy challenges.

ACTION : CAiD/FPP

6.4 Implementation of Energy AdviceEfforts should be made to identify or implement funding streams which could support the installation of higher efficiency heating in off-gas homes and also a single organization which can install them. For example, a boiler “scrappage” scheme for old oil-fired boilers or a boiler “rental” scheme could be implemented for those with low incomes.

ACTION : FPP

6.5 Financial support to Off-gas householdsSeveral community and commercial “Oil Clubs” exist across rural Dorset and these should be encouraged to provide financial loans to clients in hardship (with support from Credit Unions) to enable vulnerable households to bulk purchase fuels.

ACTION : FPP

6.6 Identification of relevant householdsThe Data Protection restrictions applied to current databases should be reviewed and data sharing improved to enable suitable organizations to identify and contact relevant households, preferably through a trusted source such as a health professional.

ACTION : CAiD/FPP

Page 17 of 24

6.7 The Priority Services RegisterThe PSR should be more widely promoted to CA clients as this provides significant protection to consumers against disconnection or adverse impacts of supply interruptions. If the current proposals for changes are implemented, it should be possible to refer suitable clients direct to the Distribution companies. The PSR should also be evaluated as tool for supporting vulnerable customers.

ACTION : Local CA/CAiD

6.8 Wider DisseminationThis study has been of limited scope due to time and resource constraints but could be distributed to local councils, MPs and other decision makers so that they are aware of the challenges facing off-gas areas in Dorset. Further work using a similar methodology would identify the impact of living in off-gas areas across larger areas and could lead to a more focused national effort to overcome the difficulties facing these communities.

ACTION : Local CA/CAiD

6.9 Improved recording of Energy issuesThe client records in CA offices should be amended to formally include energy issues – including separately identifying those which occur in off-gas areas – to enable follow-up if additional resources or grants become available.

ACTION : Local CA

Page 18 of 24

Appendix 1 Correlations of Fuel Poverty with Housing factors

Source: Non-Gas Map, West Dorset LSOA excluding Dorchester. Sample of 37,711 properties.

Page 19 of 24

Appendix 2 The cost of improving properties to modern standards

The Estimated cost for home improvements to provide an Energy Efficiency Rating of “E”Source: http://www.energyefficientsocialhousing.org/landlordAssumptions: Existing heating is electric Off-Peak heating or old Nat Gas boiler, 21Celcius living room and 18Celcius other occupied rooms,

calculations based on SAP methodology.Improvements: 250mm loft insulation, D/G windows, Fan storage heaters with auto charge controller or Condensing gas boiler, New H/W

cylinder with 80mm foam insulation

House Age House Type Heating FuelBase Heating

CostBaseline SAP

rating Estimated CostHeating Cost

SavingsRevised Heating

CostRevised SAP

rating

1930 - 49Solid Wall

Semi-detached Electric £2,347 23 (F) £5,265 £1,020 £1,327 54 (E)

1930 - 49Brick / block

Semi-detached Electric £1,848 47 (F)£5,768

inc C/W fill £1,105 £743 76 (C)

1930 - 49Brick / block

Semi-detached Natural Gas £1,512 36 (F)£3,818

inc C/W fill £907 £605 74 (C)

1950 - 82Timber frame

Semi-detached Electric £1,634 41 (E) £5,265 £761 £873 66 (D)

1984 - 91Brick / block

Semi-detached Electric £1,010 51 (E)£1,348

D/G not reqd £225 £785 67 (D)

1984 - 91Brick / block

Semi-detached Natural Gas £969 52 (E)£3,098

D/G not reqd £400 £569 67 (D)

Page 20 of 24

Appendix 3 Oil Clubs operating in Dorset

Page 21 of 24

Appendix 4 Recommendations from NICE guidance on cold homes

Guidance from NICE aims to meet a range of public health and other goals including improving health and wellbeing among vulnerable groups and reducing pressure in health and social care services. These recommendations should enable HWBs to meet these aims.

Recommendation Who Should Take Action1 Develop a strategy to address the

health consequences of cold homeHealth and wellbeing boards

2 Ensure there is a single point of contact health and housing referral service for people living in cold homes

Health and wellbeing boards

3 Provide tailored solutions via the single point of contact health and housing referral service for people living in cold homes

Health and wellbeing boards;local authorities; housing providers; energy utility and distribution companies; faith and voluntary sector organisations

4 Identify people at risk of ill health from living in a cold home

Primary health and home care practitioners

5 Make every contact count by assessing the heating needs of people who use primary health and home care services

Primary health and home care practitioners

6 Non-health and social care workers who visit people at home should assess their heating needs

People who do not work in health and social care services but who visit people at home (e.g. meter installers, faith and voluntary sector workers, housing professionals, etc.)

7 Discharge vulnerable people from health or social care settings to a warm home

Secondary healthcare practitioners; social care practitioners

8 Train health and social care practitioners to help people whose homes may be too cold

NHS England, universities and other training providers

9 Train housing professionals and faith and voluntary sector workers to help people whose homes may be too cold

Training providers (e.g. Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, Chartered Institute of Housing, etc.)

10 Train heating engineers, meter installers and those providing building insulation to help vulnerable people at home

Employers who install and maintain heating systems, electricity and gas meters and building insulation; training providers

11 Raise awareness among practitioners and the public about how to keep warm at home

Health and wellbeing boards; Public Health England; the Department of Energy and Climate Change

12 Ensure buildings meet ventilation and other building and trading standards

Building control officers; housing officers; environmental health officers; trading standards officers

Page 22 of 24

Appendix 5Citizens Advice in Dorset Energy Referral Pathway

Page 23 of 24

http://advicedorset.org.uk/for-advice-providers/dorset-energy-referral-pathway/

Page 24 of 24