NEA NI commends that the NI Executive has published a draft Programme for Government and we welcome the opportunity to respond to this public consultation.

We welcome the opportunity to provide comment on this draft Equality Impact Assessment of the initial decisions taken by the Minister for Communities in relation to the 2024-25 Budget.

We welcome the opportunity to respond to this Equality Impact Assessment. Our comments are informed by our research, expertise and extensive experience supporting fuel-poor households and vulnerable energy consumers in Northern Ireland.

A review of how the NICE Guideline NG6 is delivering warm and safe homes, and what more can be done for vulnerable and terminally ill people.

“My teenager covers himself in layers to keep warm …”

This small-scale pilot project, run in partnership with UK Power Networks, supports people with mental health issues and their carers.

For nearly four decades, NEA has partnered with local and national government, health bodies, industry and a wide range of local organisations to deliver practical solutions to improve health and wellbeing and address housing as a key social determinant of ill-health

Cold, damp and unsafe homes continue to cause shocking levels of unnecessary hardship and premature mortality. Across the UK, NEA estimates that on average more than 10,000 people die each year due to living in a cold home[i]. In England Wales where the proposals within this consultation will apply, excess winter deaths have risen by nearly 20% last winter.

NEA has helped secure institutional awareness for the health impacts of living in a cold home and how these can be addressed through preventative health-related fuel poverty schemes.