Ensure that CERT reaches those most in need

The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) must adopt more innovative ways of identifying those households most at risk of fuel poverty, insists Northgate Public Services today.

In a response to the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s consultation, Extending the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target, Northgate welcomes the government’s move to improve targeted support at the poorest households. However, the company believes that the proposals do not go far enough to tackle the growing problem of fuel poverty.

Northgate argues that there are a range of measures which are needed to ensure that those most at risk of fuel poverty receive the support they require. These include:
• partnership working between local authorities and utility companies - to identify the most vulnerable households
• sharing of Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) data to identify the most fuel inefficient households. Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), for example, hold good quality data which could help to target the most vulnerable
• embedding behaviour change measures within the CERT process.- essential if sustainable savings are to be achieved and people are to be permanently lifted out of fuel poverty.

Russell Osborne, Managing Director of Citizen Solutions at Northgate Public Services, said today: “The scale of the climate change challenge means that it is essential to act now. We must reach out to the most vulnerable members of our communities who are at the greatest risk of fuel poverty.

“We need a step change in the way measures are targeted through CERT. It is unacceptable for a household to fall through the gaps within the current system. Collaborative working between the public, not for profit and private sectors will ensure that those most in need receive the help that can permanently lift them out of fuel poverty. If we are to get it right, we must go further, faster and now.”

-Ends-

For more information
Fellows’ Associates
Kathy Sutton +44(0)20 7324 6221; +44(0)7966 890401
Danny Calogero +44(0)20 7324 6223; +44(0)7534 189235

Notes to editors
1. Northgate Public Services is an innovative provider of transformation and improvement services to the public sector. It is committed to high quality public services that place individuals and their communities at their heart. Its knowledge and understanding of people’s needs are core to its business, as too, is its depth and breadth across public services.

2. Northgate’s task is to enhance public value through the intelligent use of people and technology; to understand why and what change is necessary; to provide new thinking leading to improved performance; and to link company rewards with positive outcomes for the communities for whom it works. It supports transformation through sustainable performance partnerships. In the UK, Northgate works with ninety five per cent of local authorities, every police force, and a large number of health organisations, housing associations, utilities and transport companies.