A ‘Healthy Homes’ initiative has been launched by Liverpool City Council to promote better housing conditions in the area, including those for the elderly.
The multi-organisational scheme that aims to prevent ill health and injury as a result of low quality housing conditions is now being backed by Knowsley Council, Wirral Council, Blackpool Coasting Housing and St Helens Council.
Councillor Frank Hont, Liverpool City Council cabinet member for housing said: “Our Healthy Homes team has been very successful in helping to improve housing conditions.
“We have recently gained Home Improvement Agency status, meaning we can help elderly people care and repair for their homes. We will be letting other healthy home teams know about what works well for us in Liverpool.
“By joining together we will have much more clout when we are applying for funds which will enable us to improve housing conditions across a wide area.”
Age Concern Liverpool is a close partner of the Healthy Homes scheme and is mostly concerned with the elderly coping with the winter cold.
The charity has been promoting its links with the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) which is a government scheme that aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions for domestic energy use and tackle fuel poverty.
A spokesperson for Age Concern Liverpool told JMU Journalism: “Our main concern is making sure people are warm through the winter months. Working with Healthy Homes and Liverpool City Council helps us assess which homes needs help.
“A modern day boiler can be unaffordable for many and we want to raise awareness for the ECO Scheme and encourage as many people as possible to get in touch to find out whether they themselves or friends, neighbours and family members are eligible “
The scheme seeks to gather knowledge from other organisations of the same premise and is planning joint bids for funding, including those for European funding. Liverpool City Council is hoping to hold a national conference in spring 2016 in order to improve poor housing conditions across the country.