North Derbyshire Home Improvement Agency is now a major provider of gas servicing to vulnerable residents in the region.

When Chesterfield Borough Council and North East Derbyshire District Council issued a Joint Affordable Warmth Strategy as part of the Local Strategic Partnership, North Derbyshire HIA offered to host the chairing and administration of the group. This put the agency in a good position to get involved in providing services to the fuel poor, most of whom are potential home improvement agency customers.

A survey of the condition of private sector housing identified that boiler servicing could increase the energy efficiency of these homes by 10% - a figure confirmed by the Energy Saving Trust. This could save £100 a year to fuel poor households.

North Derbyshire HIA was asked to pilot the boiler servicing scheme for two local authorities. The pilot was a success, and the home improvement agency has now been requested to run the scheme over the whole of two local authority districts.

One surprising outcome of the pilot was the high number of dangerous heating appliances that the agency encountered - one in eight (or 12%). This was three times the figure given in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System draft operating guidance!

A contractor was chosen which had experience of working with vulnerable people, and each engineer was briefed to promote the full range of home improvement agency services.

Mark Wreghitt, North Derbyshire HIA manager said: "Being an HIA we are here to support the customer with same-day temporary heating, temperature alarms to guard the elderly and vulnerable and repairs up to and including re-installations from Warm Front or Home Repair Assistance. To further support the client we offer to fit every household receiving a service a carbon monoxide alarm."

Further advice is to be offered to home improvement agency clients who are still vulnerable to fuel poverty.

The contractor will offer clients a chargeable annual boiler service. For private residents who do not want to commit to future servicing, the home improvement agency will encourage them to take up free safety checks available to vulnerable consumers.

Carbon reduction is estimated at over half a ton per property.

Mark added: "At North Derbyshire HIA we are continually looking at ways to promote our services to yet-to-be-reached vulnerable households. The gas servicing initiative has proved to be invaluable as a vehicle to market our services, as well as a worthwhile service and a potential life saver in its own right."