THAW, Tackling Household Affordable Warmth will be holding its 2nd AGM in Kirkwall Town Hall on June 15th at 7pm. The charity will be setting out its plans for the year ahead and are keen to see a good turnout of people. Fuel Poverty in Orkney is the worst in Scotland and both the outer isles and Mainland are affected by it.
Over the past 15 months the THAW, based in Kirkwall’s Victoria Street, has been at the forefront of the drive to overturn that damning statistic by enabling energy efficiency works, worth over £500,000 to be progressed in over 400 Orkney households.
Now, with the assistance of grants from businesses, benefactors and community organisations on the isles and the Orkney Mainland, THAW is trying to formulate a bid that could bring in an additional £340,000 work over the forthcoming year.
The two key speakers at the event will be Di Alexander – the man appointed by Scottish Ministers as the independent chair of the Scottish Rural Fuel Poverty Task Force who also chairs the Highlands and Islands Housing Associations Affordable Warmth Group, and Elaine Morrison, an independent researcher who will reveal her findings from the Social Return On Investment evaluation project she has undertaken on THAW and the Pipeline Partnership approach.
THAW Chairman Robert Leslie said:
“Di Alexander has been championing the case to treat areas such as Orkney differently when it comes to energy efficiency programmes aiming at bringing affordable warmth to folk, as the issues we face are not the same as those in urban areas of the Central Belt. His message – backed by many working to tackle fuel poverty in the Highlands and Islands – is starting to be listened to. I would encourage folk to come and hear it for themselves.”
Various organisations with links to combatting fuel poverty have been offered hall space at the event to show the public how fuel poverty issues are being tackled nationally and locally.
Help both with advice and of a practical nature can be found in Orkney from
See also: SPICe – Fuel Poverty in Scotland
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