With 44% of households in the Northern Ireland experiencing fuel poverty, finding solutions to this problem is a top priority for the Assembly’s Social Development Committee. The Committee, which is responsible for overseeing the work of the Department for Social Development, is taking the lead in finding innovative and workable solutions.

The Assembly’s Parliament Buildings on 16 November was the venue for a ground-breaking stakeholder event. For the first time since the restoration of devolved government, eight Committees and their Government departments, community and voluntary groups and relevant agencies all came together to identify and prioritise solutions for ending fuel poverty.

The Committee is compiling an interim committee report based on the discussions and proposed solutions at this event. This report will lead to a rolling programme of work into fuel poverty, spearheaded by the Social Development Committee.

For more information on the work of the Committee for Social Development and for updates on their work on fuel poverty please visit the Committee page on the NI Assembly Website at nia1.me/l5

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Bryson Energy feature in Agenda NI...

Bryson Energy, part of the Bryson Charitable Group, Northern Ireland’s leading social enterprise, is committed to tackling fuel poverty and its long-term aim is to ‘energy proof’ homes across Northern Ireland

Nigel Brady, Director of Bryson Energy pictured here with Maurice Maxwell, Head of EU Commission in Northern Ireland

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WAKE UP TO A WARMER HOME WITH

GORDONS CHEMISTS AND THE WARM HOMES SCHEME

Gordons Chemists has joined forces, ahead of the much talked about harsh winter weather expected, with Bryson Energy to promote The Warm Homes Scheme again.

Joanne Wright, Professional Services Manager, Gordons Chemists, said:  “Gordons Chemists is urging people to make their homes as warm, healthy and  energy-efficient as possible by signing up to The Warm Homes Scheme.  Those who qualify can sign up in any one of our 52 stores across Northern Ireland and our staff are happy to provide customers unsure of their eligibility with further information.”

The Warm Homes Scheme is an initiative funded by the Department for Social Development and administered by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive for people who receive certain benefits or tax credits and own their home or rent it from a private landlord. 

There are three simple steps to waking up to a warmer home. 

If you qualify, an assessment will be carried out and then the installation takes place.  Help includes; cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, hot-water-tank jacket, benefit entitlement check and energy advice.

Louise Magee, Bryson Energy, said:  “It’s great that Gordons Chemists has come on board once again to provide details of The Warm Homes Scheme to their customers.  Making the scheme accessible throughout their stores means more and more people can sign up.”

For further information, call 0800 988 0559, log onto www.warm-homes.com or www.gordonsdirect.com.

The time has come to end fuel poverty for good, says Assembly Committee

Heating or eating - that’s the choice that many local people face every winter. With 44% of households in Northern Ireland in fuel poverty, finding ways to end this problem has become a top priority for the Assembly’s Social Development Committee.

Last night the Social Development Committee hosted a ground breaking event to find solutions to fuel poverty. Representatives from across the community, public and private sectors joined members from eight Assembly Committees and officials from relevant Government Departments to look at what is being done and look at new ways of helping people to beat fuel poverty.

We caught up with Committee Chair Alex Maskey MLA to find out more:

“People here are spending more than three times that of households in England on heating their homes and this is something that this Committee finds unacceptable. This key event is the first step in what will be a rolling programme of work for the Committee. We want to examine the causes of fuel poverty, to understand why the problem is worse here and crucially to find real and workable ways to halt this scourge and to make fuel poverty a thing of the past.

“This event has been a remarkable opportunity for important stakeholders from across all sectors to share experiences, ideas and knowledge. Fuel poverty is serious and we are serious about ending it.”

Photo shows Cliff Worley, Senior Manager with Bryson Energy and Alex Maskey visit Warm Homes recipient in East Belfast