Tens of thousands of older people face cold winter in park homes

Thousands of older people living in park homes, could be facing a cold winter as they struggle with the high cost of heating this type of accommodation, according to research conducted by Age UK.

It is estimated that around 100,000 people aged 65 or over are living in this type of prefabricated bungalow, sometimes referred to as static mobile homes. The homes are appealing to many older people as they are an attractive and more affordable option than a traditional home.

The latest report published by Age UK titled: ‘Don’t Leave Park Homes Out In The Cold’ focuses on the challenges that residents living in park homes face when trying to afford enough energy to heat their homes and keep warm. The report looks at why Government supported schemes such as, the Green deal and ECO have done little to help the problem.

Charity director at Age UK, Caroline Abrahams, commented: “Park homes can be idyllic in the summer but many older residents have told us that they have found to their horror that they are very poorly insulated and therefore prohibitively expensive to keep warm when it gets cold. A significant number know they can’t afford the huge bills they are racking up and so they are putting their health at risk by turning the heating down or off when they really need the thermostat up high.

“The Government created schemes such as the Green Deal to assist people who can’t afford to keep warm, yet because of the kind of accommodation they are living in most park home owners have been unable to access any help, even though their homes are more likely than most to need better insulation.”

Two thirds of park home residents are living in fuel poverty

Many park homes were constructed before building regulations were established and many are poorly insulated and not on the gas grid, with many requiring bottled gas, making them expensive to heat.

The report surveyed more than 200 park home residents aged over 65. More than half (58 per cent) said they faced problems staying warm in their home during winter months, while a similar proportion (53 per cent) reporting health problems worsening during the cold weather.

The Age UK research found that more than half of respondents felt that Government schemes hadn’t helped them with many park home owners unable to access financial help to improve their energy efficiency because they didn’t have their own electricity metre. As a result many were unable to switch and get the best deal or benefit from Government help for those on a low income, including the Warm Home Discount.

The statistics come at a time when older people are already more vulnerable to the effects of colder weather and exposure to low temperatures increase their risk of developing flu, chest infections and other respiratory problems.

Around 25 per cent of those surveyed said they spent one quarter to one third of their income on heating their home, which is large amount for someone who is already retired and living on a low fixed income or pension.

The most common reasons given for struggling to keep warm included, the high cost of fuel (66 per cent), being off the gas grid (49 per cent) and poor insulation in their homes (67 per cent).

Two third of those asked said they spend a large proportion of their income on keeping warm and were ‘officially’ in fuel poverty, which is defined by the Government as when someone spends 10 per cent or more of their income on heating their home.

Twenty per cent of respondents have back on food to afford their heating bills

Of those respondents who struggled to keep warm, 40 per cent said they went to bed early to keep warm and 20 per cent said they had cut back on food to be able to afford their heating bills. Others reported wrapping themselves in blankets with hot water bottles during the day and only heating parts of their compact park home.

Ms Abrahams added: “We know that the cold is a real health risk for older people – for example, they are three times more likely than younger people to suffer strokes if they do not keep warm - so it would make a lot of sense for the Government to make sure park home owners can afford to keep warm by supporting them to insulate their properties properly.

“Older people living in park homes are a small but significant group who are unfairly losing out from current Government initiatives to relieve fuel poverty and insulate leaky homes. It’s high time we brought them in from the cold.

“To achieve this we suggest investing cash leftover from the Government’s Green Deal Home Improvement Fund to set up a special scheme to help park home owners. Not only would this improve their health and well-being over the cold winter months, in the longer term it would help reduce illness and demands on NHS, making it a win: win for everyone.”

The report has been released ahead of the launch of Age UK’s park homes campaign in Parliament on Wednesday 21 October. The charity is calling for the Government to establish an energy efficiency scheme to help park home residents reduce their bills and keep warm during winter.

The campaign is backed by Labour MP Natascha Engel for North East Derbyshire and Conservative MP Peter Aldous for Waveney, Suffolk, while Age UK has launched an online petition encouraging people to sign and encourage their local MP to support it.

To read the report, go to: http://ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Campaigns/winter%20health/4982%20Age%20UK%20ID202741%20Park%20Homes%20Campaign%20Report.pdf?dtrk=true or to sign the petition visit: www.ageuk.org.uk/parkhomespetition