Key industry leaders gather in Scarborough for fuel poverty summit
This Monday [15 September] 250 industry leaders and key stakeholders will meet in Scarborough to debate the issues affecting the 4.5 million UK households in fuel poverty, as part of leading fuel poverty charity NEA’s 3-day Annual Conference.
The conference ‘Turning the Tide’ will explore the many issues that impact on fuel poverty alleviation with the wide range of players involved in the design and delivery of policy and practical programmes. It will allow debate and discussion around issues such as the implementation of the new fuel poverty strategy in England which is taking effect from 2015, how we can reduce the health impacts of fuel poverty and will explore the effect of the changes to welfare reform.
Maria Wardrobe, Director of External Affairs at NEA said: ‘The Conference is being held during what is a critical time for households in fuel poverty. With the Government currently consulting on a new fuel poverty strategy for England, the next few weeks present the most significant opportunity in over a decade to influence how those in fuel poverty will be assisted in the future. The Conference will bring together key decision-makers, influencers and actors to debate the new strategy as well as the other issues and policies affecting the 4.5 million UK households in fuel poverty’.
The Conference is supported by SSE. Will Morris, Group Managing Director of Retail at SSE commented: "At SSE we take our responsibilities to our most vulnerable customers seriously and are dedicated to doing all we can to protect their well-being. However, we know more must be done to address fuel poverty in the UK today. The NEA conference is an important annual event and an opportunity to bring together all those involved in tackling fuel poverty for a constructive discussion about how we can work together to 'turn the tide'. We look forward to being part of the discussion to help highlight the changes needed to tackle the challenge of fuel poverty as effectively as possible."
The conference is taking place from 15 – 17 September at the Scarborough Spa, Scarborough. Members of the press are invited to attend by prior arrangement. Contact Claire Henderson on 0191 269 2909 or Claire.henderson@nea.org.uk. For more information and agenda visit http://www.nea.org.uk/campaigns-events/annual-conference-2014.
Notes
1. National Energy Action (NEA) is the national charity which aims to eradicate fuel poverty and campaigns for greater investment in energy efficiency to help those who are poor and vulnerable
2. According to DECC’s most recent annual report on fuel poverty there are 4.5 million fuel-poor households in the UK – this equates to 17 per cent of all UK households. Please note, this figure is calculated using the 10 per cent definition (LIHC applies in England only) and is an estimate for 2012 – the latest year for which official statistics are available.
For further information please contact Claire Henderson, Communications Officer, NEA on 0191 269 2909 Email claire.henderson@nea.org.uk
Claire Henderson
Communications Officer
NEA
6th Floor (Elswick)
West One
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 3PA
Tel: 0191 2615677
DL 0191 2692909
Fax: 0191 2616496
www.nea.org.uk
-01.png){kind=spacer}