Citizens Advice welcomes Replacement Boiler Scheme

In an answer to an Assembly Question the Minister for Social Development, Alex Attwood has said that he expects a new boiler replacement scheme to be in place for Spring 2011.

Citizens Advice welcomes this announcement and also the targeting of the new scheme on the most vulnerable who have inefficient boilers.

Since a Boiler Scrappage Scheme was introduced in GB earlier this year Citizens Advice has been calling for the introduction of a similar scheme in Northern Ireland. 

Fuel poverty figures in Northern Ireland are high with over a third of all households experiencing fuel poverty.  The current economic climate, increasing job losses and redundancies coupled with long periods of extremely cold weather have the potential to increase the number of people suffering from fuel poverty.

CAB is keen to support measures aimed at alleviating fuel poverty and believe that it is important to ensure that funding is sufficiently targeted to ensure the maximum possible effect on Northern Ireland's fuel poor.  Much more needs to be done on the issue of fuel poverty in Northern Ireland but this is a welcome announcement.