Launch of the Know Your Rights Campaign

25 Oct 2011

London SW9 7AA

I launched my fourth annual ‘Know Your Rights’ Campaign at Age UK’s Vida Walsh Centre in Brixton. This time the publicity campaign focuses on fuel poverty and ways of getting help both with benefits and tax credits and with energy efficiency measures. The campaign aims to encourage people to find out what support is available by calling the Home Heat Helpline free or by visiting their website. The helpline is run by trained staff who can offer advice on grants for home insulation. Those struggling to pay their fuel bills are transferred to the ‘vulnerable customers’ department of their energy company to get the help they need. Age UK London will be running several awareness-raising events across London aimed at helping older people with finding out if they are eligible to claim help with their energy bills, advice on whether they can claim help with insulating their homes as well as energy saving tips.

This campaign is running alongside RE:NEW, my homes energy efficiency programme which will retrofit 55,000 homes with energy efficiency measures by May 2012. The programme is operating in some of London’s most deprived wards and benefit checks are being offered alongside home energy surveys.