This winter has been tough for households struggling with cost-of-living increases and rising energy costs, and it’s about to get worse.
The increase to the energy price cap next month will put more pressure on people in need of help from organisations like yours and ours. No matter their situation, we want all households in Scotland to get the energy advice they need.
Working together for warmer homes
We know people who are struggling may not contact us directly, that’s why we work closely with other organisations to support the most vulnerable. By partnering with government, health and social care services, third sector organisations and advice providers we reach more people from all backgrounds. These partnerships create benefits for everyone. Home Energy Scotland helps more vulnerable people lower their bills (or, more realistically, their bills will go up less than they would without our advice) and have a warmer home, and partners can easily refer people for support.
Our online referral portal is secure and easy to use – you can make a referral at any time, using any device. You just need online access and permission from the person you’re referring. As soon as you make the referral, we’re sent a notification to contact the householder to see how we can help. You can check progress and get reports on your referrals at any time.
We offer partners on-site or remote training, access to advice in different languages and formats and specialists who can attend events to speak to many people at once or provide advice ‘surgeries’. Discover the benefits of signing up to our partner portal, or, if you’re already registered, you can use our secure online portal to refer clients to us today.
Supporting the most vulnerable
A warm, dry, energy efficient home is good for physical and mental wellbeing and finances. By referring people to us, you’re helping them get the best impartial energy advice to try to keep them warm. A referral to us can help clients access advice, support and Warmer Homes Scotland, the Scottish Government’s national fuel poverty programme. It’s available to homeowners and private sector tenants who have lived in their home for at least twelve months, and whose household meets the eligibility criteria. If your organisation works with people who are struggling to keep their homes warm and manage their bills, we’d like to work with you.
The Warmer Homes Scotland programme offers energy saving improvements up to the value of £5,000 to make homes more energy efficient through improvements such as home insulation, draught proofing or a new heating system. After these improvements, households can save on average £300 per year on their heating bills. The amount that a household could save on bills will increase as the price of energy increases.
If you'd like you find out more about Warmer Homes Scotland, or need a hand setting up a referral, drop us an email or visit us at homeenergyscotland.org/partner.
Home Energy Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government and delivered by Energy Saving Trust - find out more on our website.
