Newly elected Newcastle Central MP visits Eaga
Newcastle MP Chi Onwurah has visited Eaga to see how the green services provider is creating jobs and helping to tackle environmental and social inclusion challenges.
The newly elected MP was touring the company’s recently opened head quarters in Gosforth as part of a policy to meet businesses in her constituency.
During the visit she was shown a number of Eaga’s operations, including household energy efficiency projects, and benefit advice services for the vulnerable.
She also saw how the Newcastle-based company was providing green jobs in the region and modern training for an increasingly low carbon economy.
Eaga has around 5,000 staff operating across the UK, more than a third of whom are based here in the North East.
Working with central and devolved government, energy suppliers, local authorities and social landlords, Eaga visits up to 3,000 households every working day to make their homes warmer, greener and more affordable to heat.
Ms Onwurah said: “Having just been elected I am keen to meet as many local businesses as possible and was extremely impressed by Eaga’s work and with the enthusiasm and commitment of its staff. Improving the energy efficiency of our homes is crucial if we are to tackle issues such as fuel poverty and make low carbon living possible for all, and I’m delighted that a local company is taking such a leading role in addressing these environmental and social justice needs.”
Ms Onwurah was also introduced to Eaga’s Advice Services, which provides telephone-based benefit entitlement, debt, housing and legal advice to customers.
Last year more than 84,000 Benefit Entitlement Checks were carried out, resulting in around 40% of customers receiving an average increase in annual income in excess of £1,600.
Ross Armstrong, from Eaga, said: “We were delighted to welcome Ms Onwurah to our new headquarters and to show her the work we are undertaking through schemes such as Warm Front and our benefit entitlement services. The help we can provide is making a real difference to the quality of peoples’ lives and to the environment.”
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Notes to Editors
- Eaga is a green support services and outsourcing company and a leader in the provision of outsourced services, products and solutions that address the environmental and social objectives of Government and the private sector. Eaga’s key market drivers are centred on climate change and social inclusion.
- Eaga is the UK’s largest residential energy efficiency provider. Working in partnership with central and local Government, utility companies and other commercial organisations, Eaga operates across the UK and in the republic of Ireland, India and Canada, employing around 5,000 people.
- Eaga was established in 1990 as a private limited company to lead Government-funded efforts to improve the living conditions of vulnerable people living in cold, damp and energy inefficient homes across England. In 2000, the company was restructured to become a 100% employee-owned business.