Responding to Extreme Cold Weather Workshop 02/03/17 07/02/19 Responding to Extreme Cold Weather Workshop NEA 2017 1

Agenda Introduction Agenda 02/03/17 07/02/19 Agenda Introduction Agenda Cold Weather Planning - Findings from the Fuel Poverty Monitor What NEA have learnt Fuel Poverty Monitor Recommendations Extreme Cold Weather Statistics - East of England Group Tasks NEA 2017 2

Cold Weather Planning - Findings from the Fuel Poverty Monitor 02/03/17 07/02/19 Cold Weather Planning - Findings from the Fuel Poverty Monitor Between 24th May and 18th June 2018, NEA and EAS issued a Call for Evidence to local stakeholders across the UK that were ‘on the front line’ of the cold snap. The effects of the cold snap this winter were felt well into March 2018, placing further strains upon the health service. In England alone, between 1st January and 31st March 2018, an additional 15,544 deaths occurred. This is 12% higher than the five year average (2013-2017). Most individual days in this period saw more deaths than the corresponding day in any of the previous five years NEA 2017 3

What NEA have learnt • Variance in cold weather planning and support 02/03/17 07/02/19 What NEA have learnt • Variance in cold weather planning and support • Support services that are available not sufficiently promoted to agencies delivering help during a crisis • Lack of local emergency sources of funding • Advice campaigns did not start early enough & lack of multi-channel or multilingual resources • Cold weather payments did not prevent vulnerable households from slipping into crisis • Little standardisation of emergency credit/fuel vouchers or extensions or variations offered to existing fuel debt repayment plans • Variance in support offered through unregulated fuel sector in identifying consumers NEA 2017 4

Fuel Poverty Monitor Recommendations (National) 02/03/17 07/02/19 Fuel Poverty Monitor Recommendations (National) Annual registration of Single Point of Contact referral services (SPOCs) to be set up by respective government departments, a related agency such as the UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) or with suitable funding, a third party   Local emergency crisis loans in local authorities should not be discretionary and available or repurposed for cold weather-related support when cold weather alerts are issued    The temperature threshold at which Cold Weather Payments are paid should be reviewed with a view to it being increased to prevent vulnerable households falling into crisis when severe weather ends but indoor temperatures are still threatening to life NEA 2017 5

Extreme Cold Weather Statistics - East of England 02/03/17 07/02/19 Extreme Cold Weather Statistics - East of England Last year (2016/17 provisional), there were 4,200 EWDs in the East of England. Of these deaths, 1260 can be attributed to cold homes (applying the WHO estimation that 30% of EWDs are attributable to cold homes). The Department of Health in 2009 estimated that for every cold-related death there are eight non- fatal hospital admissions. This means that cold-related morbidity is eight times greater than cold- related mortality. For the East of England this means that for the 1260 cold-related deaths that occur each winter, there are at least 10,080 hospital admissions. Tackling the root causes of 30% of excess winter deaths in the East of England therefore has the potential to save the health service costs to the region of £21,682,080 to £24,837,120 each year. NEA 2017 6

02/03/17 07/02/19 Group Task Task 1 (15 mins) What have you been able to implement in a form of a cold weather planning? Task 2 (15 mins) What haven’t you been able to implement in a form of a cold weather planning? Task 3 (20 mins) Prioritising practical solutions to cold weather planning prevention List support on offer- easiest to hardest to implement Now add the cost cards - Green = Low-cost, Amber = Medium-cost , Red = High-cost Identify gaps and come up with 3 solutions which should be cost effective to implement Come up with 1 answer – magic money tree is blossoming for this one. NEA 2017 7