West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker has been seeing first-hand how a local charity is helping those struggling with their energy bills, with a visit to Act on Energy’s new regional office in Birmingham on Tuesday (16th).

‍

Energy experts Act on Energy help residents across the West Midlands by tackling high energy bills, poorly insulated homes and increasing levels of energy debt.

‍

The West Midlands has the unenviable title of having the highest proportion of fuel poor households in England and in Birmingham alone, more than 105,000 households are considered fuel poor.

‍

Act on Energy’s CEO Rachel Jones said: “The fuel poverty league tables make for grim reading across the region – and that’s why we decided to open our second office in the heart of Birmingham. And whilst the data tells a depressing story – we know that the narrow criteria for defining fuel poverty together with the analysis lag, means the problem is far worse than it appears.

‍

“We’ve seen an unprecedented demand over the last couple of years for our services. It’s not just that people are struggling to pay their energy bills; but they are often making their health worse by turning off the heating and living in cold and damp conditions.

‍

“The extremely poor housing stock across the region exacerbates the issue and that’s why our work with Local Authorities to roll out government grant funded schemes is crucial to upgrade homes to make them more energy efficient.”

‍

The charity offers a freephone helpline to residents right across the West Midlands – advising on help with energy bills; applications for energy efficiency grants and advice on how to save money by using energy more wisely. For more complex cases, the charity also has several outreach support officers who can visit homes for more personalised, one to one advice.

‍

Rachel added: “We all know the effects the energy crisis has had over the last couple of years. Despite the modest falls in the price cap recently, people are still paying around double what they were before the crisis took hold. And on top of all the other cost of living increases, it’s no wonder that we’re seeing huge numbers of people with increasing energy debts living in cold and damp homes.”

‍

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), said: “With crippling heating bills and poor insulation, thousands of people across the West Midlands are choosing between heating and eating. It cannot be right that so many families in the region are living in cold, damp houses affecting their health, wellbeing and life outcomes.

‍

“That’s why I am so pleased to be working with Act on Energy to reduce residents’ energy bills, make our homes warmer and protect our environment.

‍

“With a new office in Birmingham, the charity will be able to reach even more local people with free advice to make their homes warmer and cheaper to run.

‍

“I pledged to ramp up the region’s retrofit programme. It will only be through working closely with partners such as Act on Energy that we will be able to realise these ambitions, help more people out of fuel poverty, and make a real difference to the lives of our residents.”

‍

‍

Notes to editors

Act on Energy has been providing energy advice for the last 25 years. With two offices in Warwickshire and Birmingham, we’re at the heart of the communities we serve. Freephone advice line is open Mon-Fri 9-5, 0800 988 2881 or visit our website www.actonenergy.org.uk

‍