Warm Homes in Southampton
2nd December 2008
Last week Alan Whitehead met with one of over 2000 Southampton Test constituents who has had help to improve their home's heating through the government's Warm Front programme.
Ms Marvis is 57 and owns her own flat. Through a Warm Front grant (which can be worth up to £2700), she has had her main boiler replaced, as well as the installation of draft-proofing measures and energy saving lightbulbs. This has helped her to cut her bills and ensure she has the money to keep her home warm in the winter.
Alan said:
"With energy prices on the rise over the long term, it is all the more important we continue schemes like Warm Front to vulnerable people have help reducing their energy bills. I'm very grateful for Ms Marvis for showing me around her home and the real difference her Warm Front grant has made."
More information
Warm Front grants can be used to fund major improvements to your home’s heating system and to make your home more energy efficient.
You can get up to £2,700 to fund heating improvements to your home, or up to £4,000 if your home needs oil central heating.
In Southampton Test, work valuing £2 million has been carried out, improving the heating systems in 2269 households.
This autumn the government increased investment in the Warm Front programme by £74 million so that even more improvements could be carried out.
Between 2008—2011 the government will spend a further £874 million on improving households through the Warm Front programme. This extra spending will reduce fuel bills for approximately 35,000 households by up to £180 a year.
As part of the Warm Front service, clients also get help to ensure they are claiming all the benefits they are entitled to. In Southampton Test this has led to an average increase in the weekly incomes of a Warm Front client of £25.41 per week.
Warm Front grants are targetted towards people on low & fixed incomesVisit the Warm Front website for more information on how to get a Warm Front grant
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