Additional funding awarded to help more youngsters visiting Bristol’s Lifeskills centre to stay gas safe

Lifeskills, a specially designed facility that uses lifelike scenarios to train people in how to deal with difficult or dangerous situations, is expanding its carbon monoxide (CO) safety education to reach 30,000 children and vulnerable adults, whilst also training 60 volunteers in CO safety to ensure that youngsters visiting the centre are equipped to spot dangers and take the necessary steps to remedy them.

Gas emergency and pipeline service, Wales & West Utilities, has provided the funding as part of its Vulnerability and Carbon Monoxide Allowance (VCMA). It is an extension to a previously supported project, which launched in 2022, and delivered safety sessions for people with learning disabilities and those who support them.

Sam Jury, Lifeskills’ Partnership and Development Manager, explains:

We see around 13,000 people in the Centre each year, who each leave with an increased confidence in spotting and managing safety situations in and around the home.  We are delighted that this funding will allow us to expand our training on gas and CO safety education so that we can further educate and reduce any associated risks to all those that come through our doors.

Lifeskills, based in the Create Centre, is an interactive safety education centre, built as a realistic village complete with a road, shops and houses. Scenarios can be used to practice anything, from everyday situations, such as crossing the road and shopping, to dealing with emergency situations, such as a house fire or first aid incident.

The funding, which is in place until March 2026, will also allow Lifeskills to develop awareness literature, whilst Wales & West Utilities will also disseminate key gas safety information in activity packs.

Carbon monoxide, is known as the ‘silent killer’ because you can’t see it, smell it or taste it. It kills 50 people a year in England and Wales and hospitalises many more. In the UK, there are more than 4,000 visits to Accident & Emergency for treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning – which can often lead to lasting neurological damage. Even low levels of exposure over an extended period can cause serious health issues, including brain injuries.

Sophie Shorney, VCMA Manager at Wales & West Utilities, said:

We are proud to further develop our partnership with Lifeskills, which is a fantastic resource to help young people in assessing safety situations, whilst giving them the confidence to manage them without harm.

The VCMA fund allows us to work in partnership with organisations, like Lifeskills, to reach more people and provide them with the help and support they need to keep safe and warm in their own environment and we are proud that this funding will help more young people across areas of our network.

Between April 2021 to March 2026, Wales & West Utilities has £25m to invest on projects which support consumers in vulnerable situations and raise awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide and keep people safe from the ‘silent killer’.

Funding is distributed through the Vulnerability and Carbon Monoxide Allowance (VCMA), and 75% of the money will be used to support projects relevant to Wales and south west England only, while 25% will be used on collaborative projects with the other gas networks across the UK.

If you have a project that you think Wales & West Utilities could support, either individually or collaboratively with other gas networks, then contact Wales & West Utilities at VCMA@wwutilities.co.uk.

Wales & West Utilities, the gas emergency and pipeline service, brings energy to 7.5m people across the south west of England and Wales. If you smell gas, or suspect the presence of carbon monoxide, call us on 0800 111 999 straight away, and our engineers will be there to help any time of day or night.