WAVENEY MP Bob Blizzard has welcomed the news that nearly 1700 households in the district have benefited from a government-funded scheme to provide warmer homes and cheaper bills, and is urging more households to come forward and claim their entitlements.

WAVENEY MP Bob Blizzard has welcomed the news that nearly 1700 households in Waveney have benefited from a government-funded scheme to provide warmer homes and cheaper bills, and is urging more households to come forward and claim their entitlements.

The Warm Front scheme provides up to �2,700 towards insulation and gas heating measures, or up to �4,000 for oil heating, for vulnerable households such as the elderly, disabled, and people on a low income. According to figures from eaga, the energy company who deliver the Warm Front scheme, 1674 homes have received assistance in Waveney - with the total value of the work delivered being over �2.15m. The average household saves over �186 a year thanks to Warm Front improvements, as well as reducing their carbon emissions by 1.2 tonnes a year.

Warm Front also helps households at risk of fuel poverty make sure they are claiming all the benefits they are entitled to. So far in Waveney 219 households have gained from the free Warm Front Benefit Entitlement Check, with their average income increasing by �20.69 a week - more than �1,000 a year.

'I'm delighted that so many people no longer have to worry about high fuel bills in Waveney,' said Mr Blizzard. 'Warm Front is a brilliant scheme that helps make it cheaper to heat homes, as well as saving the environment by reducing emissions.

'Unfortunately, not everyone who is eligible for Warm Front benefits takes advantage of them, and I want to encourage anyone who thinks they might be eligible to contact Warm Front and find out what they could receive. I hope we've seen off the worst of the cold weather for this year, but it's an ideal time for households who have not yet benefited from a Warm Front grant to look into getting insulation and heating improvements in time for next winter.'

To see if they are eligible to receive support from Warm Front, householders living in their own home or in private rented accommodation should call Warm Front on 0800 316 6014.