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Warm and Well in North Yorkshire is warning that many more families may soon find themselves in heat or eat situations with the announcement by Ofgem that energy bills are to rise by £96 to £1,138 a year in April for households on standard or default tariffs. The price cap, set twice a year by the regulator, affects 11 million households in the UK who have never switched suppliers or whose discounted deals have expired. That accounts for about half of all UK households. The remainder are on so-called fixed deals, which will not be affected

At warm and Well in North Yorkshire we have seen a huge rise in people suffering from fuel poverty this year. The coronavirus has made this our busiest year yet by far and we saw a 196% rise in referrals in the summer months on the year before. This suggests people were struggling before the temperatures dropped across North Yorkshire

 In what is usually, the organisation's quiet months, between July and the end of September, referrals jumped up 196% on last year with many people struggling to pay their energy bills and heat their homes.

This month, we at Warm and Well In North Yorkshire, continue to highlight the important work our fantastic partners are doing during COVID19.

The Harrogate Easier Living Project (HELP) provides a range of services to help older or vulnerable people across the Harrogate district to remain living independently in their own homes. With the assistance of over 100 dedicated volunteers we offer:

- Volunteer befriending in the home.
- Information and Signposting
- Voluntary car driving services to help people struggling with transport to attend medical appointments, make social visits, attend day centres and make essential trips such as shopping or banking.
- ‘Help at Home’ gardening, decorating and odd job service for people unable to do this themselves

For more information please check our website http://www.helpharrogate.org.uk/

Free central heating scheme making a difference in North Yorkshire

Certain residents are benefitting from reduced fuel bills and warmer homes thanks to free central heating provided by the North Yorkshire Warm Homes Fund.

71 A-rated systems have been installed, saving over £968,000 million on residents’ future fuel bills.

Funding is available for a limited time to help homeowners and private renting tenants using inefficient storage heaters, room heaters or fires.

North Yorkshire County Council are working with Hambleton, Richmondshire, Ryedale and Scarborough Borough councils to deliver the scheme