How to… Deliver affordable energy

I am an enthusiastic advocate of energy efficiency but what motivates our key decision-makers and stakeholder partners are the benefits. And, in a world run by accountants, these benefits have to be costed. Newark & Sherwood has 45,500 dwellings and our 1996 Residential Energy Conservation Plan identified an energy-efficiency investment opportunity of £70m that would deliver:

• a £9.2m increase in householder disposable income
  
• £3.8m in job creation or retention or unemployment cost avoidance
  
• £1.1m in improvements to householder health
  
• £130,000 in landlord benefits within the rented housing sectors
  
• £540,000 of environmental benefits in carbon dioxide emission savings.

Rising damp
It all started on 1 May 1985, when campaigners summoned their council landlord to a public meeting to point out severe condensation, damp and mould in the housing stock. We discovered local GPs were regularly writing to the council, linking patients' ill health to their cold and damp homes. We noted an increase in mortality of our pensioners, especially when winter temperatures fell below -4°C. And local schoolteachers had reported a mouldy stench on pupils' clothing.

And so, the £16.4m 1988-2008 council house strategy was born. An affordable energy target was agreed with tenants, which has evolved but from the early 1990s has stood at 10% of net income after housing costs. The target could be met and the risk of condensation cut through basic insulation – particularly around design weaknesses such as dropped eaves or half-brick external walls – humidistat extractor fans, trickle vents and good-quality heating systems. All of this was backed up by energy advice and guidance. By April 2001, 92.6% of council dwellings were capable of delivering affordable energy.

Total elimination of fuel poverty
Some 6000 (13%) of Newark & Sherwood householders live in fuel poverty. If this is to be eradicated then all dwellings of a reasonable size need to be capable of delivering affordable energy.

Newark & Sherwood's approach is to work towards making every property's fuel consumption affordable. This will not just eliminate current problems but remove the risk of fuel poverty from the whole housing stock. By April 2001, the total energy cost for a single pensioner was £446.08 a year, and the total energy cost for a single parent with two children was £646.57 a year.

Key lessons we have learned
Corporate and political commitment is essential, and that means identifying the social, economic and environmental benefits of delivering affordable energy. The fuel poverty strategy is integrated into statutory Home Energy Conservation Act processes, and is an essential part of our wider local carbon-management strategy.

We have also learned the value of adopting a systematic approach – identifying householders at risk of fuel poverty and ensuring different techniques are used to target and inform vulnerable households. Working in partnership with the private, public and voluntary sectors is essential to ensure that the best use is made of limited resources and that third-party grants and funding streams are maximised.

It is also important to identify dwellings likely to be at risk of fuel poverty if occupied by a vulnerable household. This requires a database devoted to measuring energy performance. By 2004, we will have enough energy performance data to undertake a fuel poverty risk assessment of most of the district's dwellings. Progress can then be measured in a straightforward way.

Finally, continuing education, advice and guidance has been an important part of the council's approach to tackling fuel poverty. This has included basic energy awareness training for tenants, the voluntary sector, health workers, council staff and elected members.