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The Chesshire Lehmann Fund is currently closed to applications. The Chesshire Lehmann Fund runs 2 funding streams: research and community action. Details of the funding streams are available here.
Annually, Trustees hope to fund three small community action projects (£2k) and three larger research projects (£5K) bids. For details on ‘who can apply’ and ‘exclusions’, see the Guidelines page.
The specific topics for 2011 are:
· The evaluation of the effectiveness of past and present policies; · Evidence to help frame future policies; · Interviews with and anecdotal evidence from those experiencing aspects of fuel poverty.
The following are indicative of areas and issues where Trustees believe research would be appropriate, but they are only indicative, not prescriptive. We very much welcome your ideas and experience, whether desk-based or in the field (e.g. people’s homes or engagement with practitioners).
The evaluation of the effectiveness of past and present policies · What has Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) delivered to the fuel poor in the priority group? Has most of the benefit been received by the over 70s? Have the fuel bills of the recipients been reduced? What level of SAP rating were the homes before and after?
· The Landlord’s Energy Saving Allowance (LESA) has had limited take-up. Is it a useful measure to help the fuel poor in privately-rented accommodation? If so, what would make it more effective, e.g. better advertising, larger grants?
· Area-based approaches are seen as increasingly important, but little has been learnt from past schemes, such as Warm Zones, on what works well or on what should be avoided in future. Does a community-based approach help to incorporate the self-effacing fuel poor, who do not self-refer for other schemes? If so, why? Are there proven economies of scale when more is done to an individual house and when more properties in a street are helped at the same time?
· Decent Homes Standard – many local authorities are meant to have responded by doing more than the minimum on thermal improvements. Is this true and did it help the fuel poor?
· Warm Front - the budget of the largest taxpayer-funded energy-efficiency intervention specifically aimed at reducing fuel poverty is being reduced to a third in England. What are the lessons to be learnt about the successes or otherwise of the Warm Front strategy and the delivery of that programme – either on a national or a local level?
Evidence to help frame future policies · How many fuel poor households are likely to benefit from the feed-in-tariff? Are local authorities and housing associations planning to use the option for their low-income residents? What is being offered to the fuel poor householder – just free electricity? What will this be worth to the various household types? £50 pa? £200 pa? Are FIT providers offering different benefits to the fuel poor? Which do you consider to be the most just?
· What mechanisms are required to enable the fuel poor to access and benefit from the Renewable Heat Incentive? For example, how can the up-front costs of renewable technologies be provided to enable access to the RHI by fuel poor households?
· Is community combined heat and power good for the fuel poor? What is the evidence from Aberdeen, Sheffield, etc?
· The introduction of smart meters is expected to result in time-of-day tariffs. How will these help the fuel poor, or some of the fuel poor, due to their non-standard energy use patterns and what might be the risks to these households? What rules would you propose to protect the fuel poor?
· A reverse block tariff (or rising block tariff) means that the unit cost rises with the level of consumption: small users pay the least per unit. On average, the fuel poor pay less (and therefore consume less) than better-off households. Would a RBT be good for the fuel poor and how would you design it to maximise their benefit?
Interviews with and evidence from those experiencing aspects of fuel poverty · Under-occupancy can contribute to the fuel poverty risk of older people. What do these households understand about this risk and what would enable them to consider an alternative property? This might include investigating complex meanings and values attached to ‘home’ and which act as a barrier to change.
· How many people in fuel poverty are paying unnecessarily high bills because they have old, energy inefficient, possibly faulty appliances and equipment? Would another scrappage scheme, like Fridgesavers, be beneficial to them?
· Are the fuel poor wasting money because they do not understand their heating controls?
· Is there a group in society who ‘hide’ from all help, e.g. they do not switch to cheaper tariffs, they do not claim all their benefits, they do not self-refer for grants? How big is this group? How could we identify and offer help to them?
· Has the switch to 6-monthly billing (based on readings) by some energy suppliers helped to reduce or worsened fuel poverty? What early learning has there been from this change in the billing cycle?
· Why regulatory or other reasons explain why pre-payment keypads (Northern Ireland’s electricity prepayment system) are cheaper than standard credit, whereas in GB the prepayment meter is more expensive?
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2011 Funding Priorities |