Rishi Sunak, the UK chancellor, has bowed to stress and introduced a £15bn bundle of measures to assist households scuffling with vitality payments, funded by a windfall tax on oil and fuel producers.
Extra assist shall be directed to these on the bottom incomes, however the authorities has additionally appeared to assist the “squeezed center”, with a variety of common and focused measures. FT Cash provides a information to what help is obtainable.
What new assist has been introduced this week?
All UK households with an electrical energy meter will obtain a one-off grant of £400, which shall be mechanically utilized to payments from October and doesn’t have to be repaid.
This replaces earlier plans for a £200 “warmth now, pay later” scheme that will have been clawed again over 5 years.
Greater than 8mn households on means-tested advantages (together with common credit score, tax credit and pension credit score) will moreover be eligible for a one-off £650 “value of residing fee” to be paid in two phases: the primary in July and the second this autumn.
The Division for Work and Pensions and HM Income & Customs will make these funds straight. The cash is tax-free, won’t rely in the direction of the profit cap and won’t have any affect on current profit awards.
Greater than 8mn pensioner households that obtain the winter gas fee will moreover obtain a one-off £300 “pensioner value of residing fee” this winter that shall be paid on to them.
This shall be per family, not per pensioner, and shall be paid on prime of any assist they’re already entitled to, resembling pension credit score or incapacity advantages. It isn’t taxable and doesn’t have an effect on eligibility for different advantages.
In his speech, the chancellor recognised that not all households that have been entitled to say pension credit have been doing so. In case you are not sure of your entitlement, use the federal government’s checking instrument gov.uk/pension-credit/eligibility.
What about these with disabilities?
A separate £150 “incapacity value of residing fee” shall be made in September to individuals who already obtain advantages, together with incapacity residing allowance, the private independence fee and attendance allowance.
The federal government stated this was to replicate extra prices, resembling powering specialist tools and elevated transport prices.
Some disabled folks will even be entitled to the primary £650 value of residing fee — however provided that they’re on means-tested advantages, which has prompted criticism from campaigners.
“The Tories have now given disabled folks a one-off £150 fee for the price of residing disaster — having eliminated many disabled folks’s annual £150 Heat Residence Low cost,” Dr Frances Ryan, the creator and incapacity rights campaigner, stated on Twitter. “You’ve virtually bought to respect the nerve.”
When will the £150 council tax rebate be paid?
In England, all properties in council tax bands A-D are entitled to a £150 rebate on prime of the measures introduced right now. Many native authorities have already made this within the type of a reversed £150 direct debit, however households that don’t pay by direct debit must apply to their native council to obtain it.
Households that don’t qualify for this and different advantages can moreover apply for a share of their native authority’s Family Help Fund for assist with the rising value of meals, vitality and water payments. On Thursday, the chancellor introduced an additional £500mn of funding.
I don’t want this cash. Can I choose out?
It isn’t doable to choose out of the winter gas fee, pensioner value of residing fee or £400 grant utilized to vitality payments — however you may donate it to charity. The #donatetherebate marketing campaign on social media reveals that many individuals are donating to gas poverty charities resembling Fuel Bank Foundation and National Energy Action, in addition to native meals banks — and eligible taxpayers can enhance the worth of their donation by including Reward Help.
