The Cadent Foundation pledges £15m over the next three years to help tackle fuel poverty

THE Cadent Foundation has released its 2022 Impact Report, outlining its progress in helping households to find sustainable solutions to tackling fuel poverty while ensuring people are safe and warm in their homes.

With an estimated 7.5 million households predicted to be living in fuel poverty by April 23, this mission remains vitally important, with more families expected to turn to fuel poverty charities, foodbanks and debt charities for help.

In 2022 alone, the Cadent Foundation awarded more than £2.9 million to charities helping to tackle fuel poverty across the UK, with the important funds helping to provide debt advice and guidance on how to improve the overall energy efficiency of the home. However, there is still more to do and this year, the Cadent Foundation has pledged to award a further £15 million over the next three years to charitable organisations working to tackle the root causes of fuel poverty across the most deprived communities.

Some of the flagship programmes from the past year include:

• The Foundation’s income maximisation programme with the Trussell Trust, operating in 17 food banks, has meant 30% of people no longer need a foodbank.
• A major partnership with national charity Groundwork, to deliver over 26,000 energy efficiency measures into the homes of vulnerable people.
• Other supported projects have helped deliver in-depth tailored energy advice, installed thousands of energy-saving measures to make homes more efficient; facilitated access to grants and schemes for larger home improvements and helped people increase their money through income maximisation projects.

Julia Dwyer, Director of the Cadent Foundation, said:

“We’re incredibly proud of all the charities we’ve supported and have had the privilege of working with over the past few years. However, sadly this year, we’ve really seen the impact of the ongoing cost of living crisis, which has plunged millions more people into fuel poverty, which is why we have focused our attention on one core objective, tackling the root causes of fuel poverty. Now, as part of this commitment, we are delighted to be able to extend our support further by pledging an additional £15 million over the next three years to continue helping to alleviate the devastating impact of fuel poverty on UK households.

“Throughout the last 12 months, we’ve identified new partners, adopting a holistic model which brings together multiple organisations with the same focus on delivering stronger outcomes for vulnerable communities, ultimately making it easier for people in hardship to find the help they need. We can already see this approach working and have ambitious plans to continue building on this to maximise the positive impact we can have together.”

The Cadent Foundation’s new Impact Report 2022, Working together for a future without fuel poverty, details the grants awarded in 2022 and how the funding has improved the lives of so many communities throughout the UK.