Tackling Fuel Poverty in the North East Graeme Oram Chief Executive, Five Lamps

Welcome

Five Lamps Over 26 years of Making People Matter Mission: To transform lives, raise aspirations, remove barriers and offer choice Values: Making People Matter; Service Matters; Performance Matters; Informed Choices; Share Success; Make Communities Matter Vision: Creating Possibilities: Improving Lives Integrated service portfolio: –Financial Inclusion –Youth Services –Enterprise –Employability Unique model of delivery - ‘Whole family approach’

Financial Exclusion Financial Exclusion is the closest proxy to poverty North East - 1million people (nearly 50% of the working age population) without savings accounts and almost 500,000 people (and increasing) who have no current account 10 – 12M UK adults in the non-standard credit market 2.5M to 3M using home collected credit (aka doorstep lending) £25 to £30M issued through home collected credit every week Dramatic increase in the number of high interest loan companies on the high street, online and the doorstep market 5 of the 13 ‘red areas’ which have the greatest mismatch between supply and demand for affordable credit Financial exclusion is a barrier to social and economic inclusion Financial Inclusion through targeted support and building capacity Affordable credit for all Savings Access to mainstream services

Financial Inclusion Aim: To provide affordable credit and financial support to financially excluded individuals across the North East, enabling them to move away from their reliance on unaffordable or illegal credit Personal lending –21,378 unsecured personal loans to financially excluded individuals –Personal financial advice to over 26,000 financially excluded individuals –£6,626,875 lending activity Helping Hands –280 loans to financially excluded homeowners (average loan £9,082.50) –£5,459,323 loan scheme Energy Debt Advice –Contract awarded through British Gas Energy Trust to provide energy efficiency and debt advice to 400 individuals –Stockton Council – Warm Homes Healthy People Capacity Builders –Workshops to over 1,500 financially excluded individuals –Pre-release prisoners at HMP Kirklevington Grange

Key initiatives NESTA – ‘Twenty Catalytic Investments to Grow the Social Investment Market’ Great North Loan Fund –To continue the growth of our regional financial inclusion initiative towards our target of a £20m multi- faceted loan fund by 2015, delivering 50,000 personal loans per annum Social Investment Bond –To secure large-scale social investment issuing a prospectus in March 2012 for a listed bond on the Luxemburg Bond Exchange –Note Programme will seek to raise up to £20million over the next few years. The initial prospectus will seek to attract investment across three specific tranches: –Financial Inclusion – to enable further growth in our personal lending activity –Empty Homes – to act as a catalyst in a substantial 10 year initiative bringing up to 5,000 currently empty properties back into productive use –Helping Hand – the conversion of the current fund into a 20year bond as a cornerstone for future investment Measuring our Impact –Sector leading social impact measurement building on nationally-recognised 2010 Social Accounts

Tackling fuel poverty in the North East Our financial exclusion customers are: Personal LendingEnergy DebtHelping Hands Female71%70%49% 30 years and under49% 7% 31 – 64 years46%42%57% Elderly (65 +)5%9%36% Unemployed75%70%21% Local Authority or Housing Association rented accommodation55%60%- Single parents44%26%16% Previously accessed Social Fund74%17%-

Energy Debt Advice - Customers Grant applications to Utility Trusts –10% don’t respond – they want help but won’t engage –15% multiple debts – Debt Relief Orders/ Bankruptcy –20% switching advice –25% eligible for Warm Homes Discount Referrals for additional support –British Gas – Further Assistance Payments –GO-WARM/ Health through Warmth Replacement boilers –5% referred for specialist benefits advice –3 people referred to Christians Against Poverty – food –Warm Zone for external cladding Unemployed fathers Elderly – 90% of over 60’s are worried about rising fuel bills 25% of people are entitled to Warm Homes Discount UK Government: Statutory obligation to eliminate fuel poverty by 2016

Case Study: Newcastle Customer Mark from Newcastle Wife, 3 children and 1 on the way Baby was born with very little kidney function – dialysis Mark struggled with 14 hour days he was working – new job at British Heart Foundation Baby’s life threatening condition means she needs a constant temperature in her room Linda Evans – advice on managing on a reduced income, energy efficiency and British Gas Energy Trust grant New boiler – British Gas Energy Trust Further Assistance Payment and Newcastle Council’s ‘Health Through Warmth’ project (Energy Savings Trust referral)

Tackling Fuel Poverty in the North East Strategic Priority: Building Brilliant Partnerships Multi-agency approach Referral to or (01642) Questions?