Northern Gas Networks (NGN) has published an account of its Centres for Warmth programme, saying that since 2024 the 20 funded centres have "provided safe, warm spaces and crucial energy advice and support for thousands of people across the North of England"1. The gas distributor delivers gas to 2.9 million homes and businesses across the North of England1.
The centres sit inside existing community hubs and are targeted at areas of deprivation within NGN's network area1. NGN lists the support on offer as carbon monoxide awareness and advice, income maximisation through benefit entitlement checks and help with managing debt, free or reduced cost food and clothing, fuel top up vouchers, and links to partner organisations1. Users are also encouraged to learn about the Priority Services Register, which NGN describes as a free service offering extra support if there is an unexpected interruption to gas supply1.
Two host organisations are named. Bilton Hall Community Trust in Jarrow, near Newcastle, runs an open door policy and signposts service users to other services1. Its manager, Joanna Tuck, said the funding had kept the organisation from going into negative balances and allowed it to keep paying bills and employ dedicated staff1. The two Khidmat Centres in Bradford, which NGN says serve some of the city's most deprived areas, support around 24,000 people a year through programmes including wellbeing activities, dementia support and practical advice on benefits, housing and energy efficiency1.
"The support from NGN has been transformational. It has enabled our Centres to strengthen and expand the way we deliver wraparound and floating support for our community."
Carole Marshall, Centre for Warmth Coordinator at NGN, said the centres aim to address needs at a local level in the communities that are most disadvantaged in the network, and described them as a trusted source for local people1. NGN said the centres have been described as "transformational"1.
Why it matters for households
The programme is a form of warm hub: a heated, staffed place a household can use during the day rather than heating its own home, combined with face to face advice. For a household managing a tight energy budget, the elements NGN lists address different parts of the problem at once. Benefit entitlement checks and debt help act on income, fuel top up vouchers act on the meter, and carbon monoxide advice and Priority Services Register sign up act on safety and on what happens if supply is interrupted1.
The advice element matters for energy independence in the practical sense: a household that knows what it is entitled to and how to manage a debt or a top up is less exposed to a sudden bill or a cold snap. The centres are funded by the network operator rather than by government, and NGN states they are placed in the most disadvantaged parts of its patch1. The published account does not give a figure for the number of people supported, beyond "thousands", and does not set out funding amounts or how long individual centres will run1. It also does not say how households outside the 20 locations can access equivalent support; that has not been reported1. Broader grants and schemes for household energy costs are separate from this programme.
What happens next
No closing date, funding period or expansion plan for the Centres for Warmth programme is given in the published account1. NGN directs enquiries to its VCMA team1.