British Gas Energy Trust awards £643k worth of grants to community organisations supporting vulnerable people in Devon
The British Gas Energy Trust has announced a series of grants to help organisations across Devon to support people in fuel poverty over the next two years.
Navigate Devon and Exeter Community Energy have been awarded grants worth more than £643,000 by the Trust to help people with free and confidential advice and support with debt and energy related issues.
Over two decades the Trust, solely funded by British Gas, has helped millions of people in fuel debt with community-based money and energy advice, energy debt grants and emergency fuel vouchers, with a total investment of £200m.
The Trust Funded Projects Programme - SCARP (Supporting Communities at Risk Programme) - funds charities across England, Scotland, and Wales, who offer a holistic approach to fuel poverty, treating not only the symptoms but causes that often create a cycle of fuel deprivation.
The funding was awarded following a nationwide mapping exercise which identified organisations that are best placed to help people avoid the burden of energy debt. A total of 38 organisations across the UK have been awarded grants this year, worth a combined total of £13 million.
Earlier this year, British Gas announced a £20 million donation to the British Gas Energy Trust as the organisation marks twenty years of tackling fuel poverty across the UK.
Jessica Taplin CEO of the Trust said: “I am thrilled that the Trust can continue this critical support across Britain. With this funding commitment of £13m over the next two years an estimated 35,000 people across Britain will have access to these key frontline services in the heart of their community, with 60 per cent of people receiving critical in-depth support they need.
“Our funded money and energy advice services will provide advice and support that address root causes of fuel poverty such as poor money management and home energy inefficiency’.
Helen Charlton Chair of the British Gas Energy Trust Board said: “Our Trust funded projects are a necessity in communities up and down the country and I have witnessed first-hand the impact of these services, and I know they can have lifechanging effects they can have on people affected by fuel poverty.
“This funding will enable these money and energy advice services to deliver a significant uplift in activity, including 23,000 income maximisation and benefit checks, as well as 14,000 home energy survey, more education sessions, and more people receiving help with a budget plan, with an increased focus on the holistic support of increasingly complex cases and energy advice’.
