Annette Brooke MP joins Home Heat Helpline in their campaign to alleviate fuel poverty

10.32.02am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 6th Feb 2007

The Home Heat Helpline provides advice and assistance to people with concerns over their heating bill

• Annette Brooke MP calls on people in Mid Dorset & North Poole who are concerned about their energy bills to get in touch with the Home Heat Helpline

• Vulnerable people in Dorset may be missing out on up to £1,500 each in benefits and grants to heat their home

• Home Heat Helpline helped over 38,000 people in its first year of operation

Annette Brooke MP today joined the Home Heat Helpline in their campaign to help lift 3 million people in the UK out of fuel poverty by signing a parliamentary motion calling on vulnerable people to get in touch on the free Helpline number - 0800 33 66 99 - to access advice and support.

Annette Brooke urged vulnerable groups in Dorset and their families, friends and carers to call the free helpline if they have concerns about heating their homes this winter or paying heating bills.

Those calling the freephone number will be able to speak to expert advisors, including former health professionals who are trained to give advice on how to stay warm during the cold weather. It doesn't matter which company supplies the caller's energy as the Helpline is funded by all Britain's energy retailers. It can also take calls from intermediaries calling on behalf of vulnerable people, such as friends, family, carers, social workers or health visitors.

In its first 12 months 38,000 people called the helpline. Over one in four (27 per cent) of those who called the Helpline saved money on their utility bills and 5,000 people accessed benefits they were previously unaware of.

Annette Brooke MP said:

"There are vulnerable people across Mid Dorset & North Poole - particularly older people, disabled people and lone parents - who are worried about heating their home this winter. But they don't need to go cold.

"One call to the Home Heat Helpline can put them in touch with the advice and support they need. Expert advisors can help on what benefits and grants that they may be entitled to and will also provide practical tips on keeping their homes warm.

"Look out for your neighbours, friends and older relatives - if you think someone you know is going cold then you can call for advice on their behalf and see whether they are entitled to help. They don't need not go cold this winter.

"As a rule of thumb the best temperature for their main room should be 21 degrees and other rooms should be at 18 degrees. If they're struggling to afford this then they should think about contacting the Helpline on 0800 33 66 99."

Duncan Sedgwick, Chief Executive of the Energy Retail Association said:

"It is great that Annette Brooke is supporting the Home Heat Helpline. Everyone has a role to play in raising the profile of this important issue - whether that's in the House of Commons or in your own street.

"At this time of year it is vital that people who are worried about their heating bills or keeping their home warm receive all the advice and assistance that they are entitled to. It's not too late for people to call to ensure they are not left cold this winter."

To help those worried about heating their homes the Helpline has launched a range of guides for consumers, charities and advice groups. These include digital guides that can be downloaded from the Home Heat Helpline website (www.homeheathelpline.org) which contain information and advice on insulating homes properly; making sure homes are as energy efficient as possible and providing information on how people can register for extra services to ensure they are warm this winter.

ENDS

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Notes to Editors

Home Heat Helpline

Suzi Darsa - 020 7747 5436

Suzi.darsa@energy-retail.org.uk

1. The Home Heat Helpline operates from Monday to Friday 9am-8pm and from 10am-2pm on Saturday. There is a free minicom number (0800 027 2122) and the Helpline also has access to interpreters for those callers whose first language is not English. www.homeheathelpline.org

2. The Helpline is operated by The essentiagroup and is staffed by expert advisers, including former health professionals, who are trained to give advice on how to stay warm during the cold weather. They are also trained and authorised to deal with intermediaries calling on behalf of vulnerable customers, such as friends, carers, social workers or health visitors

3. The Home Heat Helpline was launched by the Energy Retail Association which was established in October 2003 and is the only dedicated trade association for domestic energy suppliers in the UK. More information can be found at www.energy-retail.org.uk

4. The Home Heat Helpline is a free service for all British citizens and is funded by Britain's six major energy suppliers. The energy suppliers spent £300 million between 2002 - 2005 on tackling fuel poverty and have committed to spend a further £700 million over the next 3 years on this important issue.