4 December 2026
One Call, That’s All:
Two Years On
Rethinking support for people facing fuel and food poverty
Headline Partner
Headline Sponsor
What if no one experiencing financial hardship had to navigate support alone?
For too long, people experiencing fuel and food poverty have been expected to navigate fragmented services, repeat their story to multiple organisations, and coordinate their own journey through crisis.
Over the past two years, Utilita Giving has designed, funded and tested One Call, That's All (OCTA) – a coordinated support system that brings organisations together around one referral, one trusted relationship and one coordinated pathway to support.
Now, we're sharing what we've learned.
Join senior leaders from across the energy sector, government, local authorities, charities and community organisations as we unveil the findings from Britain’s most ambitious coordinated customer support pilot and explore what comes next.
Included: Keynote speakers, pilot findings, independent insight, panel discussions, networking and lunch.
This conference is free to attend. Places are limited and early booking is recommended. Reserve your place today.
Discover how OCTA has:
Identified more than £2.3 million in additional household income
Reduced reported high household stress from 56% to 12%
Improved financial confidence, reduced food insecurity and increased hope for the future
Demonstrated the value of coordinated, relationship-based support built around the customer rather than organisational boundaries
Award-Winning Design
Speakers
Helen Boardman
Executive Director, Utilita Giving
Helen Boardman is Executive Director of Utilita Giving, the charity funded by Utilita Energy that invests in innovative solutions to tackle fuel and food poverty across the UK. She is a values-led charity leader with more than 26 years’ experience designing and transforming services that improve outcomes for vulnerable people across youth services, local government, health, domestic abuse services, and the voluntary sector. Helen is the architect and commissioner of One Call That’s All (OCTA), Utilita Giving’s triple award-winning integrated support model developed in collaboration with Trustees, partners, and delivery organisations. OCTA combines advice, income maximisation, debt support, and financial and material aid through a single point of access, bringing together partners across the energy, charity, and community sectors so people only have to tell their story once. Supported by Utilita Energy’s ongoing investment and strong cross-sector partnerships, OCTA has helped hundreds of households facing fuel and food poverty, identifying more than £1.6 million in potential support while demonstrating measurable improvements in stress reduction, resilience, and hope. Helen is particularly interested in how behavioural insight, data, predictive modelling, and AI can be used ethically to identify vulnerability earlier and improve customer outcomes, while ensuring services remain compassionate, person-centred, and dignity-enhancing.
Derek Lickorish MBE
Non-Exec Chairman, Utilita Energy
Derek is a leading voice in the UK energy sector, with decades of experience championing energy efficiency and tackling fuel poverty. As Non-Executive Chairman of Utilita Energy and former Chair of the Government's Fuel Poverty Advisory Group for England, he has advised government on protecting vulnerable consumers and shaping fairer energy policies. Derek has also contributed to several parliamentary inquiries and continues to advocate for a sustainable and inclusive journey to Net-Zero that supports low-income households. He was awarded an MBE for his 'Services to the Fuel Poor' in the Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours 2012.
Emma Revie
Co-Chief Executive Officer, Trussell
Emma Revie OBE is Co-Chief Executive of Trussell, a UK anti-poverty charity supporting over 1,400 food bank centres. Since 2018, she has led its shift from emergency food provision to a movement tackling the root causes of poverty. She has held leadership roles across organisations working on poverty, education, employment and social mobility, championing practical, lasting change. Emma advocates for values-led leadership and believes real progress comes from collaboration between communities, public services and people with lived experience.
Adam Scorer
Chief Executive, National Energy Action Patron, Utilita Giving
Adam has been Chief Executive of National Energy Action, a charity that campaigns against fuel poverty in the UK, since 2017. He is a Patron of Utilita Giving, and has been a consumer rights campaigner for many years including at major UK consumer bodies such as Which? energywatch, Consumer Focus and Citizens Advice. He has been a member of numerous industry advisory boards and committees from civil aviation to insurance fraud. Fuel poverty, consumer vulnerability and the challenge of decarbonisation have been key drivers throughout his career.
David James MBE
Ex-England goalkeeper Patron, Utilita Giving
Having amassed 572 Premier League appearances and represented England more than 50 times, David James MBE is a former international footballer who won major honours with clubs including Liverpool and Portsmouth. Since retiring, David has become a respected pundit for broadcasters including BT Sport, the BBC and Sky Sports. He is also a passionate advocate for grassroots football and sustainability as co-founder and ambassador of Football Rebooted, Utilita’s nationwide boot recycling initiative, and supports Utilita Football’s work to make the game more accessible at all levels. David is also proud to serve as a patron of Utilita Giving, helping to support communities and individuals facing hardship.
Mike Smith
Company Secretary, Utilita Energy Chair of Trustees, Utilita Giving
Mike is a chartered accountant with more than 40 years’ experience, working across a range of sectors both in-house and in practice. A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (FCA), Mike graduated in 1984 with a degree in Accounting and Finance (BA Hons). Having joined Utilita in 2009 and being appointed part-time Finance Director just a year later, Mike became full-time Chief Financial Operator in 2014 at a time when the company enjoyed sustained growth. He is now Company Secretary. He is also the Chair of Trustees of Utilita Giving.
Frazer Scott
Chief Executive, Energy Action Scotland Trustee, Utilita Giving
Frazer is CEO at Energy Action Scotland. He is passionate about the social and environmental justice aspects of sustainable development. He has worked for over 20 years at a senior level with large multi-nationals, public bodies, local business, charities, social enterprises, and community bodies. He has authored and edited innovative work on employability in a greener economy, wellbeing as a measure of social progress and the Child Poverty Action Group’s Fuel Rights Handbook. He is a trustee of National Energy Action, a director of Aberdeen Heat and Power and is a visiting Professor at the Centre for Energy Policy at the University of Strathclyde.
Louise Thomson
Insight and Strategy Lead, Red Kite Community Housing | Trustee, Utilita Giving
Speaker TBC
Mark Curtin
Chief Executive, Lord’s Taverners Trustee, Utilita Giving
Mark is an experienced CEO and senior leader with over 20 years working in various charities and socially focused not for profit organisations in the UK, Europe and the USA. Mark was CEO of The Felix Project, a charity tackling Food Poverty in London, from 2019 to 2022, overseeing its growth from start up to the largest independent redistribution charity in the UK during the pandemic. He is now currently CEO at Sport for Social Development Charity the Lord’s Taverners, which maximises Cricket as tool for social inclusion and empowering young people from disadvantaged communities to overcome inequality.
Jem Maidment
Chief Marketing Officer, Utilita Energy Trustee, Utilita Giving
With a 20-year background in journalism, Jem worked in regional media before progressing to Chief Producer at Sky News. He later moved into corporate communications, winning awards, and working on projects for brands such as Adidas, Uefa and BT. Jem took over Utilita’s marketing department in 2015, setting up an Internal Communications team, establishing the Customer Experience department and more recently coordinating the release of Utilita’s first ever TV ad.
Bill Bullen
CEO, Utilita Energy Founder & Funder, Utilita Giving
Bill Bullen is the CEO and co-founder of Utilita Energy, having transformed the company from a kitchen table start-up into one of the UK’s most innovative independent energy suppliers. An engineering graduate from the University of Bath, Bill also holds an MSc in Energy Conservation and the Environment from Cranfield School of Management. With a career spanning almost 40 years, Bill previously worked for SWEB and successfully guided Electricity Direct from its inception to a £250 million turnover. He later joined the executive leadership team at Centrica Business Services before founding Utilita in 2003, aimed at servicing low-income households and challenging the dominance of the ‘Big 6’ energy suppliers. In 2005, Utilita became the first supplier to install smart meters in customers’ homes, establishing itself as the nation’s leading smart prepay provider through its proprietary technology that revolutionises the Pay As You Go experience. Over the past decade, Utilita has seen significant growth, increasing its customer base five-fold and opening a string of high street Energy Hubs. The company has earned numerous accolades, with Bill being named Industry Champion at the 2024 Utility Week Awards. “When I started Utilita, I wanted consumers to get a fairer, better deal, and that remains my motivation,” he says.
Matt Stevenson-Dodd
CEO, Trust Impact
Matt Stevenson-Dodd is founder and chief executive of Trust Impact, a consultancy helping charities build trust through innovative impact measurement and reporting. With a 30+ year career as chief executive of some of the UK’s most socially impactful and innovative organisations, Matt is trusted by the CEOs, boards, chairs and senior leaders of hundreds of organisations around the world to help find pragmatic solutions to understanding, measuring and maximising their social impact. He works across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, helping organisations answer one simple question: “Do we actually make any difference”? Matt is author of the number one bestselling book “The Difference - How to Understand, Measure and Maximise Social Impact” which was published in June 2026. With clients including Refugee Council, Duke of Edinburgh International, Refugee Council, RSPCA, Cambridge City Council, Shell International, and Utilita Giving, Trust Impact has disrupted traditional and complicated impact measurement with a much simpler and more strategic offer. All of this is underpinned by a strong academic record which includes an MBA with Distinction from Nottingham University Business School and a scholarship to Harvard Business School. In his spare time Matt is a qualified PADI Scuba Instructor, rebreather diver, trail runner, and plays bass in a 90's cover band in North Wales called The Bright Lights.
Ryan Miemczyk
Director of Research & Innovation, Trust Impact
Ryan Miemczyk is Director of Research & Innovation at Trust Impact, and founder of the impact lab. A government-accredited researcher with a background in psychology, service development, and evaluation. He has spent over 20 years across the social, public and charity sectors, working with over 180 organisations including CALM, Utilita Giving, Stonewall, RSPCA, Cancer Research, and Shell PLC to turn data into evidence that funders, trustees, and communities actually act on. He chairs two charities, created imd2025.co.uk and group-pulse.com, and is currently helping to scope a sector-owned synthetic data initiative for UK civil society.
Helen Greig
Operations Director, Healthy Homes Hub
Helen is an experienced leader in the not-for-profit sector. An established facilitator, trainer, housing professional and operations lead, Helen loves working with organisations who aspire to make a difference in the world. Operating at all levels from frontline to Chief Executive, Helen has predominantly worked in supported housing across a variety of specialist areas, as well as the National Housing Federation, the trade body for housing associations in England. Helen went on to become MD of WISH (Women in Social Housing) in December 2020, leading the business through a difficult year of ongoing pandemic and change, and started working with Trust Impact in May 2020, going on to become Managing Director. At Trust Impact, Helen led work with numerous charities and not-for-profit providers, co-ordinating impact strategies and bringing them to life through measurement and visualisation. Helen set up her own consultancy in 2026, but continues to work with Trust Impact in an associate capacity, as well as being a Director for Healthy Homes Hub. Helen graduated from her MBA at Nottingham University in 2018 with a distinction, is chair of sexual violence charity SV2 and EDI rep on her local swimming committee, where she has set up and runs an inclusion and disability session for young people.
Leigh Thompson
IncomeMax
Leigh Thompson is Director of Services at IncomeMax CIC, a social enterprise that works with partners to help people get more money into their pockets and make financial worries feel a little less overwhelming. Since joining IncomeMax in 2017, Leigh has helped shape and grow partnership services across the energy, financial services, housing and community sectors. His work focuses on practical, human support that actually makes a difference, from benefit checks and claim support to grants, bills, debt signposting and financial wellbeing. Leigh is particularly interested in cutting through complexity, challenging systems that do not work well for people, and finding better ways to reach those who are often missed. He is also involved in IncomeMax’s digital innovation work, including exploring how AI can support, but never replace, proper human advice and care.
Pippa Fisher
IncomeMax
Pippa is the Data and Impact Manager at IncomeMax and has been with the organisation for 12 years. She oversees IncomeMax’s data, systems and impact reporting, making sure they understand what is working and where they can improve. A big part of Pippa’s role is working with partners, such as Utilita Giving, to make sure their services reach the people who need them and make a genuine difference.
Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan
The Zinthiya Trust
Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan is the CEO and founder of the Zinthiya Trust a charity based in Leicester supporting women and families to be free from poverty and abuse. An activist, community champion and author Zinthiya is passionate about ending violence against women and girls and creating thriving communities.
Andrew Richardson
Health & Wellbeing Adviser, Leicester Tigers Foundation
As a Heath & Wellbeing Adviser, I am passionate about helping individuals and families facing food and fuel poverty, working in partnership and supporting food banks and food pantries. It is a privilege to come alongside people who are struggling to cope with rising costs and a complicated benefits system. Over the past 14 years I have had experience as a Community Centre Manager with The Salvation Army, a benefits adviser with Helping Hands Community Trust and I am now a Health & Wellbeing Adviser with Leicester Tigers Foundation. I am a big advocate of charities working in partnership for the greater good of the community, individuals can only benefit when charities work together. In my current role with The Leicester Tigers Foundation, I am able to combine the love of sport and the passion I have for helping people in need.
Amy Elizabeth Davies
Chief Executive Officer, Helping Hands Community Trust
Amy Davies is the Chief Executive Officer of Helping Hands Community Trust, a charity dedicated to tackling poverty, social exclusion, and inequality through free, independent advice and community support services. With more than two decades of community sector experience, Amy is a qualified psychotherapist and has specialist expertise in domestic and sexual abuse, with a strong focus on working with those who use harmful behaviours. She is passionate about empowering individuals and families facing complex challenges, including poverty, inequalities, mental health and wellbeing issues, and trauma. Since joining the organisation in 2024, she has focused on strengthening partnerships, expanding community impact, and ensuring accessible, person-centred support for those most in need. Amy is committed to creating positive, lasting change and helping people build confidence, resilience, and brighter futures to thrive.
Stewart McCulloch
CEO, Christians Against Poverty
Stewart is the CEO of CAP, a church based movement where a team of 300 specialists based in Bradford support nearly 3,000 mission workers across 240 debt centres, 600 money coaching centres, based in over 1000 affiliated churches. CAP has recently come together with Community Money Advice (CMA) adding a further 140 debt centres and over 900 highly trained workers. Together, this movement helps tens of thousands of people on very low incomes each year who are in financial vulnerability or distress to become resilient, debt free and invites them to find Jesus. Working exclusively through churches CAP’s work brings order where there is chaos, hope where there is fear and the warmth of the gospel into cold homes. Stewart joined CAP in January 2024, following five years as CEO at Stewardship, where he brought the organisation through a time of significant transformation and development including creating an award-winning philanthropy team and seeing annual giving increase by 40%. He is also a council member of the Evangelical Alliance. Stewart has previously worked as Global Insurance Director for VisionFund (the microfinance operation of World Vision) helping millions of the poorest farmers in Africa and Asia recover their livelihoods from climate and other shocks. He is an experienced Chartered Accountant who spent the early part of his career in management consulting, before leading a number of insurance businesses through very significant change. Stewart loves the local church and is passionate about meeting people at their point of need and seeing them transformed through an encounter with Jesus. Stewart is married to Sarah; they have five adult children, two grandchildren and a rescue cat with three legs.
TBC
TBC TBC
TBC.
Conference Agenda
09:00 – 09:30
Arrival & Networking
Registration, refreshments and cross-sector networking as delegates arrive.
09:30 - 09:50
Opening Address
Welcome to the conference.
Derek Lickorish MBE
09:50- 10:10
The Reason We Are Here Today
Introduction to the purpose of the event and the OCTA pilot.
Helen Boardman
10:10 - 10:50
The “Heat or Eat” Reality
Discussion on the lived reality of fuel and food poverty in the UK and the importance of coordinated support services.
Adam Scorer
Stewart McCulloch
Emma Revie
Derek Lickorish MBE
10:50 - 11:00
Comfort Break
11:00 - 11:30
Investing in Innovative Solutions
A conversation exploring, why Utilita Giving invested in the OCTA pilot.
Matt Stevenson-Dodd
Mike Smith
Frazer Scott
Mark Curtin
Jem Maidment
11:30 - 12:30
The Stabilisation Engine in Action
A deep-dive into the OCTA mechanics: How IncomeMax unlocked £2m through 1,200+ casework journeys, verified by the Trust Impact dashboard. Includes the "Transformation Call" recording — the moment a household moves from crisis to agency.
Leigh Thompson
Pippa Fisher
Ryan Miemczyk
12:30 - 13:15
Lunch & Networking
13:15- 14:00
One Call, That’s All: Place-Based Delivery
Focus on how the OCTA model operates locally, including coordinated casework journeys and practical support for households in crisis.
David James MBE
Amy Davies
Andrew Richardson
Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan
Helen Greig
14:00 - 14:30
Scaling the Model: A National Opportunity
Discussion about the future potential of the OCTA stabilisation model and opportunities for wider adoption or collaboration across the sector.
Helen Boardman
Mike Smith
Frazer Scott
Mark Curtin
Jem Maidment
Bill Bullen
Matt Stevenson-Dodd
14:30 - 15:15
Roundtable Discussion: The Future of Coordinated Support
Facilitated discussion bringing together insights from across the room. Participants will be invited to reflect on the learning from the OCTA pilot and share perspectives on what needs to change to improve support for households experiencing fuel and food poverty. Tables will be asked to contribute key reflections and priorities for the sector moving forward.
Matt Stevenson-Dodd
15:15 - 15:30
Conference Close
About the venue
The conference location is:
Unity Place
200 Grafton Gate
Milton Keynes MK9 1UP
Is there parking available?
Public parking is available on the City Side facing V6 Grafton Gate, provided by Milton Keynes Council. Charges do apply, so please check the signage for full details.
Please visit the Unity Place website for further information.