Home
Heat Helpline launches advice guides on how to have a warmer
winter
- New online guides launched in Bengali, Hindi and Chinese to
assist households where English is not their first language
- Guides contain hints and tips on keeping warm this winter
16th February 2007
With winter in full swing the Home Heat Helpline (0800 33
66 99) today launched a range of new guides on how to keep
warm this winter for households where English is not their
first language.
More than 3 million households are at risk from living in
fuel poverty and are spending more than 10 per cent of their
income just keeping warm. It is therefore critical that households
are able to get the advice they need to keep warm this winter.
The Home Heat Helpline guide explains how, by taking very
simple steps, households can heat their home more efficiently
and pay less for their fuel bills this winter.
The new language guides have been produced in Bengali, Hindi
and Chinese and are available from the Home Heat Helpline
website (www.homeheathelpline.org) or by calling the Helpline
on 0800 33 66 99. For all households where English is not
their first language and who would like advice and information
on keeping warm, the Helpline is calling on them to phone
this number, and speak to a qualified advisor using an interpreter
through the Language Line facility.
The Helpline is the only service for all customers who have
difficulties with heating their homes or paying for their
energy bills no matter who their energy supplier is. Over
38,000 people called the Home Heat Helpline during its first
twelve months. It is staffed by expert advisors, including
former health professionals who are trained to give advice
on how to stay warm during cold weather.
Helpline advisors can offer advice on benefits and grants
such as winter fuel payments for older people, as well as
inclusion on Priority Service Registers (PSR’s) for
the disabled, and tips and hints on saving energy. The Helpline
can also take calls from intermediaries calling on behalf
of vulnerable people, such as friends, family, carers, social
workers or health visitors.
Duncan Sedgwick, Chief Executive of the Energy Retail Association
comments on the new guide,
“It is vital that all households
in the UK are able to access advice and support on keeping
warm during the winter months. The launch of these new language
guides in Bengali, Hindi and Chinese are aimed at households
who may feel that because English is not their first language
they are unable to access information on how to insulate their
home and keep warm this winter. By using the new guides and
taking advantage of the Language Line facility we hope that
households call the helpline as soon as possible to get the
support and advice they need.”
“The Home Heat Helpline is dedicated
to making sure advice and guidance on staying warm is available
to anyone who needs it, and in a form that they can easily
understand. The Helpline already provides a service which translates
calls into almost any language currently spoken in the UK.
These guides are aimed at bringing information directly to
those may need advice and support this winter.”
“The guides, along with new guides in Welsh, Gaelic
and Polish, are available via the Home Heat Helpline website – www.homeheathelpline.org – and
I hope that relevant organisations and advice groups make
use of them when providing advice to households worried about
heating their home this winter.”
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Notes to editors
• Four Communications
0870 420 3245
HHH@fourcommunications.com
• Home Heat Helpline
Oliver Wright – 020 7747 5436
oliver.wright@energy-retail.org.uk
The guide is available at www.homeheathelpline.org/media
Home Heat Helpline – 0800 33 66 99
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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
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
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
The Home Heat Helpline is
a free service for all British citizens and is funded
by Britain’s six
major energy suppliers which is the only telephone
helpline service that aims to tackle fuel poverty.
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.
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