National Energy Action (NEA), the fuel poverty charity, announced on 24 October 2024 that delivery of Warm Homes, Healthy Futures is now live1. The programme is run with the four gas distribution networks across England, Scotland and Wales, Cadent, Northern Gas Networks, SGN and Wales & West Utilities, with Northern Gas Networks as lead partner1. It is funded through the networks' Vulnerability and Carbon Monoxide allowance budgets and is described by NEA as its highest-value collaborative project to date, with an allocation of £12.2 million1.
NEA says the programme will reach around 30,000 people living with health conditions and disabilities made worse by cold, damp or poor-quality homes1. It is a nationally coordinated network of locally delivered services, and NEA says it has already connected with partners across more than 30 areas in England, Scotland and Wales1. Households reach the programme through referral, either directly into NEA's specialist service or through one of 13 local delivery partners1. Referrals come from GPs, social prescribing teams, mental health services, pharmacists, cancer care teams, hospital discharge teams and adult social care services, among others1.
Once referred, households are supported with in-depth energy advice and support, carbon monoxide safety awareness and access to CO alarms, and essential gas appliance servicing; in some cases clients are connected to another service for appliance replacement1. NEA also describes a programme of community engagement events and training for frontline professionals, including those in health and social care1.
NEA sets the programme against wider figures: six million households living in fuel poverty, cold homes estimated to cost the NHS more than £1.4 billion annually, and cold homes linked to around 10,000 excess winter deaths per year1. The charity says it works across England, Wales and Northern Ireland1.
"The Warm Homes, Healthy Futures' programme is so much more than a partnership and a programme. By working with the gas distribution networks, we can reach those people who struggle to access help and support, we can identify the most vulnerable communities, and we can help lift them out of fuel poverty."
Why it matters for households
The programme is not a grant that a household applies for directly. Entry is by referral from a health or social care professional, so a household's route in runs through a GP, social prescribing team, hospital discharge team or similar service rather than an application form1. The support offered is advice, CO safety awareness and alarms, and servicing of existing gas appliances, with appliance replacement only in some cases and through a further connection1. That distinguishes it from capital grant schemes that fund insulation or heating upgrades, such as those covered in the guide to home energy grants and the Energy Company Obligation. For a household in or near fuel poverty, the practical value lies in advice and safe operation of what is already installed, alongside referral into other support where a local partner can provide it. NEA's own framing links cold, damp homes to health costs and winter deaths, which is the case the charity makes for treating warmth as a health matter as well as a bills matter1. Households looking for the wider landscape of funded support can start with grants and energy independence, crisis and hardship funds and the question of which benefits qualify. Background on the charity itself is in the guide to National Energy Action.
What happens next
NEA says delivery is live and will run initially until March 20261. No further dates, funding rounds or expansion targets beyond that period have been reported1.
Sources2 cited
- Fuel poverty charity joins forces with gas distribution networks to help 30,000 vulnerable people stay healthy, warm, and safe at home - National Energy Action (NEA), nea.org.uk
- Fuel poverty charity joins forces with gas distribution networks to help 30,000 vulnerable people stay healthy, warm, and safe at home. | Northern Gas Networks, northerngasnetworks.co.uk