March 2017 | The Connecting Homes for Health: Phase 1 Review has been prepared by NEA for Northern Gas Networks (NGN) with the intention of identifying a possible pathway for piloting revised and more inclusive criteria for connecting vulnerable households to the gas network. Such a pilot would go beyond currently eligibility criteria for the fuel poor network extension scheme (FPNES), and represents a voluntary and proactive move on the part of NGN.
The review finds that off-gas households are some of the most energy inefficient properties in the country, contributing significantly to domestic sector carbon emissions. They are also some of the most expensive to heat, meaning that a significant proportion of off-gas households are in fuel poverty. They are therefore more likely to experience colder indoor temperatures which, as the review shows, are a risk factor for respiratory and cardiovascular disease, mental ill health, and a range of other associated health conditions. A potential widening of FPNES criteria might therefore achieve additional health and environmental outcomes for households who are vulnerable and either in or on the edge of fuel poverty, but who fall outside the scope of current eligibility requirements.
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