| Don’t forget veterans at risk
Royal British Legion and Home Heat Helpline join forces to mark Veterans Day with call not to forget veterans at risk Veterans in fuel poverty urged to call the Helpline (0800 33 66 99) to access free advice and financial support to pay for fuel bills As the nation marks Veterans Day (27 June) and pays tribute to the millions of Britons who played a crucial role in past conflicts, the Home Heat Helpline (0800 33 66 99) and The Royal British Legion have joined forces to call on vulnerable veterans who may be living in fuel poverty to call the helpline. One call to the Helpline could allow a service veteran access to vital advice and financial support to allow them to pay their fuel bills and prepare their homes for the winter months ahead. Fuel poverty, where someone pays more than 10 per cent of their income on fuel bills, can hit many vulnerable groups. These can include ex-Servicemen and women who may struggle to pay for essentials such as heating because they are elderly, have a disability or struggle on low incomes after they have left the service. It is these vulnerable veterans who could particularly benefit from calling the Helpline. Callers to the Helpline can get advice and financial support to help heat their home. This can include tips on reducing energy use and benefiting from reduced tariffs and free insulation through grants from their energy supplier or from the Government that could reduce their monthly energy bills by as much as £300 over the course of a year. Sue Freeth, Director of Welfare at The Royal British Legion urged veterans to pick up the phone if they are worried about paying their gas and electricity bills and heating their home. “We know from our research that 46%, or nearly four million veterans and their dependants, report living on a net income of less than £10,000 per annum. Many of these people may be struggling with utility bills and we very much hope that the Home Heat Helpline will be able to provide some advice and support to these people when it comes to heating homes.” The Home Heat Helpline is a not for profit organisation that was set up to help vulnerable people who have problems heating their home. 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. More than 55,000 people have called the Home Heat Helpline so far. It is staffed by expert advisors, including former health professionals who are trained to give advice on how to stay warm during cold weather. 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, added “Fuel poverty affects millions of people every year. The hardest hit are the vulnerable, including older people, the disabled and those on low incomes. Service veterans can fall into one, or all, of these groups. It is therefore essential that as we mark Veterans Day we do not forget those that have fought in past conflicts who now may be finding it difficult to pay their fuel bills. We are proud to be working with The Royal British Legion to raise awareness of this important issue and hope that ex-Servicemen and women, worried about how they will heat their home this winter, will pick up the phone and call the helpline today.” To help those worried about heating their homes the Helpline (0800 33 66 99) has produced a range of guides for consumers, charities and advice groups. These include digital guides that can be downloaded from the Home Heat Helpline website (www.homeheathelpline.org) which contain information and advice on insulating homes properly; making sure homes are as energy efficient as possible and providing information on how people can register for extra services to ensure they are warm for next winter. Ends Notes to Editors 1. The Home Heat Helpline (0800 33 66 99) operates from Monday to Friday 9am-8pm and from 10am-2pm on Saturday. There is a free minicom number for deaf users (0800 027 2122), and the Helpline also has access to interpreters for those callers whose first language is not English. www.homeheathelpline.org 2. 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 3. The Energy Retail Association 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 4. The Home Heat Helpline, launched in October 2005, is a free service for all customers in Great Britain and is funded by the six major domestic energy suppliers. It is the only telephone helpline service that aims to tackle fuel poverty. Since 2003 the six major energy suppliers have spent over £1 billion on energy saving schemes that support vulnerable households. In addition, they spend a further £100 million per year on their various voluntary company initiatives that tackle fuel poverty. The industry is fully committed to playing its part in this important issue and may spend even more on this over the next three years. 5. The Royal British Legion protects the interests, welfare and memory of British serving and ex-Service people and their dependants. Around 10.5 million people - of all ages - are eligible to approach the Legion for support. Our charitable work covers a range of services including grant-making to those in need, pensions and benefits advice, vocational assessment and careers advice, home and hospital visits as well as the provision of full nursing care.
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