“Heat Our Homes Too” says John Battle

John has called on the Government not to forget back to backs in Leeds.

“I want to make sure the Government doesn’t forget back to backs, or system built houses either, so that people in Leeds living in these types of homes aren’t accidentally left out,” he said.

The Government are consulting on the second stage of their energy efficiency scheme, which provides grants for insulating and heating homes. Privately-owned houses get help through the Warm Front grant programme, which has improved 13,273 homes in Leeds so far; Council homes have Heat Lease. Pensioners qualify for a higher level of assistance.

John added “This is an excellent scheme that combines tackling global warming by cutting the amount of energy we use with tackling fuel poverty, helping people – especially pensioners but others too – to heat their homes properly. I have written to the Minister asking him to check the details of the scheme to make sure it applies to our back to back and system built homes here in Leeds, and will cover dry-lining and external wall insulation for these homes, as well as cavity wall insulation for system built and other houses with unusual sized cavities, not just the standard size.”

John Battle was Chair of Housing in Leeds when he was a Councillor in the early 1980s, and was Labour’s Parliamentary Spokesman on Housing in the early 1990s.

©John Battle MP 25th August 2004