News to give some warmth
Help is still at hand for households struggling to pay heating bills, says Paul Lewis.
Growing numbers of local councils in England are helping hard-up pensioners in their area by giving them a winter fuel payment to replace the one the Government recently stopped. (Nearly ten million pensioners who don’t get pension credit no longer qualify for that payout.)
The social company Policy in Practice works with about 60 English councils and helps them maximise the financial resources of poor residents in their area. It says about one in three of those councils is providing money to replace the winter fuel payment for pensioners whose income is low but not low enough to get pension credit. It adds that a further 25 are working towards a similar scheme.
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Councils identify low-income pensioners from their records of those who claim two other means-tested benefits – council tax reduction or housing benefit that pays some of their rent. To qualify for those benefits their income can be too high to claim pension credit but still very low. Councils with these schemes then give the pensioners they have identified a replacement winter fuel payment, which is generally the full amount of £200 for 66- to 79-year-olds and £300 for those over the age of 80.
This money comes from what is called the Household Support Fund – cash given to local councils by the Government to help low-income households. For the six months from October 2024 to March 2025, the Government will share £421 million between English councils and £79 million between the three devolved authorities for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
In England, pensioners struggling to keep warm should contact their local council to see if it can help them. They should do this as soon as possible because the Household Support Fund may not accept applications after 31 March, and it could run out of money before then. In Wales, Age Cymru has a guide to help with heating costs: try agecymru.org.uk or 0300 303 4498. In Scotland, contact Citizens Advice Scotland via cas.org.uk or 0800 028 1456. In Northern Ireland, Advice NI (adviceni.net) can help on 0800 915 4604.
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You can also contact your energy supplier, wherever you live in the UK. By law, they must help struggling households, and some give financial assistance.
QUESTIONS? Send any questions to Paul.Lewis@radiotimes.com. I cannot answer you personally, but I will reflect them in this column