EAST Riding of Yorkshire Council has been awarded £46,000 in Government funding to help reduce the health impacts on people who are struggling to keep warm in their homes during winter.

The council was awarded the full amount it bid for under the Department of Health’s Warm Homes Healthy People Fund, and will be using the funding over the next few months in partnership with organisations including the NHS.

Plans include paying for emergency oil funding for up to 30 vulnerable households who cannot afford to buy heat during the winter months. A further 1,000 households are set to benefit from cold weather alarms which will inform people when they need to turn up their heating to stay healthy.

Coun Symon Fraser, portfolio holder for the environment, housing and planning, said: “I am delighted we have been successful in obtaining this funding which can be used immediately to help people in East Yorkshire.

“Each winter there is a spike in the number of people suffering from cold related illnesses and it is a priority for us to continue to seek out available funding opportunities to try and help them stay healthy in their own home.”