The homes of some of Bradford’s most vulnerable people will be insulated to improve their health during the winter months.

The district has been given a slice of a £2.5 million grant fund awarded to the Leeds City Region by the Department of Energy and Climate Change to fund a project called ‘insulation by prescription’.

It will see Bradford Council working with the NHS to identify a process which will allow health professionals to help patients who suffer from chronic conditions exacerbated by cold living conditions.

The grant will allow improvements to be made to make 50 homes warmer.

A Bradford Council spokesman said: “We are working with the NHS and potential funders to develop this scheme further.”

The project in Bradford is one of four pilot schemes being tested across the region as part of a new Green Deal, which will provide grants and loans to residents to upgrade a variety of property types, including those that are classed as ‘hard to treat’.

In Leeds and Kirklees, 470 homeowners will be offered assistance in the form of zero per cent loan packages to pay for energy efficiency improvements, and in Calderdale lower income households will be assisted through the programme. Older stone properties could benefit from measures such as narrow cavity insulation, solid wall insulation and boiler upgrades.

Councillor Mehboob Khan, deputy chairman of the Leeds City Region green economy panel, said: “We have a strong track record in assisting our residents to make energy efficient improvements to their homes. In doing so, we’ve proved that you can improve lives, cut emissions, save money and create jobs.

“By trialling key elements of the Green Deal, we can help shape how it will work in our region, maximising its potential to help people out of fuel poverty, improve their health and quality of life and become an integral part of our sustainable, low carbon economy.”