National Energy Action has launched Warm Homes, Healthy Futures, described as its GB-wide fuel poverty and health programme. The charity announced the programme at an evening reception in London in March 2024, and says the first phase begins in May1.
The programme is described as evidence-based and multi-year. It will connect health professionals and local public health bodies with energy advice and other specialist services, and is intended to help people live in warm and safe homes and improve health1. NEA says it will offer "essential services such as energy advice, income maximisation, servicing, and home improvements"1. It is coordinated nationally and delivered locally in communities where there is high need and limited existing support1.
It is supported by the gas distribution networks Cadent, Northern Gas Networks, SGN and Wales & West Utilities, and delivered with partners across England, Wales and Scotland, working closely with the sister charity Energy Action Scotland1. NEA says it aims to make a tangible difference to tens of thousands of people's lives1.
"The importance of this programme goes far beyond the individual packages of support and measures that National Energy Action can deliver. It is also the vital collaborations, lines of communications and partnerships, nationally and locally, that makes this programme distinctive."
The network chief executives each gave statements. Mark Belmega of Cadent said the company's colleagues enter thousands of homes daily but that "doing our day job is simply not enough right now"1. Mark Horsley of Northern Gas Networks called it "our most ambitious collaborative project to date"1. Mark Wild OBE of SGN said the partnership aims to integrate efforts into healthcare services1. Frazer Scott of Energy Action Scotland said fuel poverty has a hugely negative impact on the health of those on lowest incomes, people with essential medical needs, disabled people, older households and families with very young children1.
No funding figure, household eligibility criteria, number of homes to be treated or per-household measure list has been reported1.
Why it matters for households
The programme's stated route into homes is through the health system rather than a general application window: NEA says it will connect health professionals and local public health bodies with energy advice and specialist services, and target those most vulnerable1. For a household, that means the practical offer described is advice on energy use and income maximisation, servicing, and home improvements, delivered locally in areas identified as high need with limited existing support1. The programme is GB-wide, so it covers England, Wales and Scotland, with Energy Action Scotland involved on the Scottish side1. Separate Scottish grant and loan routes remain distinct from this programme; the differences between Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan and Warmer Homes Scotland are set out elsewhere on this site. Broader support routes are collected in the grants and schemes section and the getting started section.
What happens next
The first phase of the programme begins in May, according to NEA1. No end date for that phase, and no further phases, have been reported1.