Star date: 7th November 2014

SALFORD COUNCIL ALMOST £200,000 UNSPENT FOR WINTER WARMTH

Salford Council has a budget of over £200,000 to keep people warm this winter. But as the cold nights draw in, the Council has spent just £7,000 of its `Winter Warmth' and `Affordable Warmth' budget, aimed at helping elderly and vulnerable people from freezing during the winter months.

Salford has an estimated 9,000 pensioner households, 4,000 families with children and more than 5,000 disabled households living in fuel poverty in Salford.

Full details here...

Salford Council has £205,000 budgeted to help vulnerable families stay warm this winter. It has an `Affordable Warmth' budget of £127,000 and a `Winter Warmth' budget of £78,000 – but latest figures revealed by the Council this week show that a mere £7,000 had been spent by the beginning of October.

Salford has an estimated 18,000 households subject to fuel poverty - 9,000 pensioner households, 4,000 families with children and more than 5,000 disabled households.

Salford Council's `keep warm' initiatives include the Affordable Warmth Boiler Scheme in which people can get health and safety checks and low-cost repair grants for gas boilers. This scheme covers anyone aged over sixty, or anyone under sixty who receives benefits and has responsibility for a child, disabled person or pensioner.

There's also emergency boiler and heating grants available for people on low incomes with dependents, or on low income and aged 55-60.

Meanwhile, the Green Handyperson can come round to people's homes and provide free energy efficient light bulbs, draught excluders, hot water tank jackets and reflective radiator panels, which reflect heat back into the room. This service is available for anyone over 65 and on a low income, or anyone who has a physical or sensory disability, or any families on a low income with a child under five.

There are other schemes too which are run through the government, power companies and Greater Manchester energy advice organisations.

According to the government's Housing Health and Safety Rating System, as used by Salford City Council, `lack of thermal comfort' is a Class One hazard that can lead to death.

The Council has £205,000 put aside to help elderly and vulnerable people get through the winter – but so far has spent just £7,000.

For details of Salford Council schemes phone 0161 793 2264 or email KeepingWarm@salford.gov.uk or click here and click here

For the Green Handyperson phone 0161 793 9419.

To find out about more schemes and get a freepost referral form – click here

If in difficulties phone Salford Council Welfare Rights and Debt Advice Service 0800 345 7375