Certain groups of boaters in Wiltshire, and across the UK, were excluded from national energy bill support in 2022-23, leaving them at increased risk of hardship. Wiltshire Council’s Public Health team had previously worked extensively with lived experience partners from this community to build trust and better understand needs. This meant they were able to work with a campaigning team of boaters called UK Boaters for Energy Justice, who came together to challenge the Government on missing energy bill support. The council was able to distribute £167,000 of funding to boaters not receiving national energy bill support (~430 households).
The challenge
Travelling communities, including boaters, found it difficult to access national support during the peak of the cost of living crisis in 2022. One estimate is that 6000 boating households in the UK weren’t eligible for national support.
Initially, no boaters were able to access energy bill support, but after national campaigning work by boaters, those with a permanent residential mooring (a small percentage) were able to apply in 2023. After continued campaigning, boaters known as continuous cruisers (who have to travel continuously) were able to apply for support in the summer of 2023. These delays led to deepened hardship amongst boaters as fuel prices rose drastically, leading to knock-on impacts on affording food, boat repairs, mooring fees, and other essentials. Food banks, including Devizes and District Foodbank, saw more boaters of all backgrounds needing to use their emergency services due to unsustainable expenditure. This had significant impacts on health, wellbeing, and risk of homelessness.
The solution
In response to boaters being unable to access national support, a campaigns team called UK Boaters for Energy Justice came together with facilitation from the community organiser at Devizes and District Foodbank. This team met regularly and achieved actions such as meeting a local MP at a marina, engaging with other MPs, repeated media coverage, writing directly to the UK Government, raising the topic at APPGs (all-party parliamentary groups), and starting a national petition.
Wiltshire Council’s Public Health team has been working with lived experience partners and charities supporting the boating community for the last three to four years. This includes distributing funding to boaters via these partners, using funds given by the Government to support a wide range of households during the pandemic and cost of living crisis.
Due to these existing projects, Public Health proposed using some of the fourth round of the Household Support Fund for boaters experiencing hardship and excluded from other support. Up to 31st March 2024, the fund allowed 201 boaters to receive £600 as cash or vouchers (equal to Government support), and a further 235 households had existing support topped up by £200.
The impact
Boaters receiving the fund were able to use it for fuel, mooring and license fees, food, and items for their boat, meaning they had sufficient nutrition (including medically necessary diets, which boaters had reported not being able to afford). They could also keep themselves and their boat warm, for better health and maintenance of their homes. Being able to afford mooring and license fees meant reduced risk of homelessness and thus less pressure on local authority housing schemes.
For Wiltshire-based members of the UK Boaters for Energy Justice team, the fund has been both a great financial help and a win for justice and equality, where every household receives equal support. The fund has been the difference between being able to afford fuel and food or not, although members state disappointment that the fund didn’t come from the UK Government and hence was delayed. While other households received national support automatically, boaters had to apply for support and those without internet access or experiencing social isolation might have missed their chance.
How is the new approach being sustained?
Public Health are continuing to work with Wiltshire’s boating community, and continuing their partnership and funding commitment with the charity, Julian House, which has a dedicated team for boat dwellers.
UK Boaters for Energy Justice continues to campaign for national energy bill support, including by handing in their national petition. They are also encouraging other local authorities to work with their Travelling and Boating communities, and consider how funds can be used to support these groups, as in Wiltshire. Members of the team have gained confidence and campaigning skills, and there is increased awareness in Wiltshire of boating communities and the challenges they face.
A key leader of the campaign has stayed in touch with the BBC reporter who covered the story, and has been able to give interviews on other issues facing boaters. They said, ‘this is the first time I feel like I’ve been part of something that got a win.. It can be soul-destroying to fight for something, to bare your soul, and to not get the change’. The campaign brought together boaters across the UK, and further broke down barriers between local authorities and a minority community.
Lessons learned
- The value of local authorities taking the time to understand their minority populations, such as boaters
- Best practice lessons for other community groups and campaigns to come together to make change and work with decision-makers. The fund would not have existed in its final form without boaters advocating for themselves and building a cohesive team of people willing to take actions to further the campaign
- The short time period between applying and receiving funding was a major benefit for boaters experiencing hardship, as was the in-person outreach for anyone digitally excluded
- The option of cash, bank transfers and shopping vouchers was welcomed for flexible and dignified use of funding
- Lessons for the UK Government to consider travelling communities and people with no fixed address when delivering financial support schemes
Contact
Contact: Alex Montegriffo, [email protected]