Lincolnshire County Council Health and Wellbeing Board - Find a freedom of information request

1.Does the Lincolnshire County Council Health and Wellbeing Board have a strategy in place to address the health consequences of cold homes, as recommended by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on Excess winter deaths and illness and the health risks associated with cold homes (NG6)?

2.Has the Lincolnshire County Council Health and Wellbeing Board commissioned a single-point-of-contact health and housing referral service to help vulnerable people who live in cold homes, as recommended by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on Excess winter deaths and illness and the health risks associated with cold homes (NG6)?

3. Does the Lincolnshire County Council Health and Wellbeing Board have procedures or policies in place to ensure primary health and home care practitioners assess the heating needs of people who use their services at least once a year, as recommended by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on Excess winter deaths and illness and the health risks associated with cold homes (NG6)?

4. Does the Lincolnshire County Council Health and Wellbeing Board record or audit compliance with the recommendation referenced in question 3 among primary health and home care practitioners?

5.Does the Lincolnshire County Council Health and Wellbeing Board have procedures or policies in place to ensure that, when a patient is discharged from a health or social care setting, an assessment is carried out into whether they are likely to be vulnerable to the cold and if action is needed to make their home warm enough for them to return to, as recommended by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on Excess winter deaths and illness and the health risks associated with cold homes (NG6)?

6. Does the Lincolnshire County Council Health and Wellbeing Board record or audit compliance with the recommendation referenced in question 5?

Lincolnshire County Council and all district councils in Lincolnshire are members of the Greater Lincolnshire Energy Efficiency Network (GLEEN). Other partners include the NHS and voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations such as Citizen's Advice and YMCA Community Lincs. The Housing Health and Care Delivery Group (HHCDG) is a subgroup of the Lincolnshire Health and Wellbeing Board and GLEEN's work programme contributes to actions around housing standards and cold homes in the HHCDG delivery plan.

1. GLEEN does not at present maintain a strategy to address the health consequences of cold homes but does implement a programme of work with the aim of coordinating energy efficiency advice and schemes across the Greater Lincolnshire area.

2. GLEEN has established Lincs 4 Warmer Homes (L4WH) as a single-point-of-contact referral service to help vulnerable people who live in cold homes. L4WH connects residents with installers who have access to funding for heating and insulation improvements and other services to help them keep their homes warm.

3. There is nothing formal in place for primary health and home care practitioners to assess heating needs; however, L4WH will be promoted by health and social care staff and they could refer people in where appropriate. L4WH has Warm Homes Fund available for first-time heating installation.

4. In light of the above answer compliance with the recommendation referenced in question 3 among primary health and home care practitioners is not recorded or audited.

5. There are no specific procedures or policies in place to ensure that, when a patient is discharged from a health or social care setting, an assessment is carried out into whether they are likely to be vulnerable to the cold and if action is needed to make their home warm enough for them to return to. However, there are two Housing Hospital

Link Workers in Lincolnshire who work with hospital discharge teams to ensure a range of housing issues are addressed in readiness for discharge and this can include heating.

6. Compliance with the recommendation referenced in question 5 is not recorded or audited but outcomes from the intervention of the Housing Hospital Link Workers are captured.