Council has received the following that may be of interest for anyone needing advice or assistance with their energy bills.
North Yorkshire Household Support Fund
From April 2022 we are again administering the energy portion of the Household Support Fund. We can issue fuel vouchers, payments to credit meters and the purchase of oil, LPG logs and coal. For single households generally the payment made will be £140. For families (which includes couples) the payment will generally be £245.
If you have any clients who require support please complete our online referral form. Callbacks are generally made within 3 working days so if your client needs urgent assistance please advise them to call our freephone Adviceline on 0808 278 7900.
If you have clients over 55 we’ve been asked to focus on this demographic when distributing the household support fund so please don’t hesitate to refer clients who are struggling to pay their energy bills.
Cost of living support
Following the announcement by Ofgem that the price cap will likely rise by a further £1,971 to approximately £2,800 in October 2022. This estimate is for a consumer with average consumption and paying by direct debit. This will be an increase of £829 for the average consumer who pays by direct debit. Whilst this is a best estimate and the price cap will officially be announced in August we need to start preparing now for a difficult Autumn and Winter.
In response to Ofgem’s announcement, the Chancellor announced further cost of living support.
■ The £200 energy rebate due for October is being increased to £400 and the requirement for it to be paid back will be scrapped.
■ £650 payment to around 8 million people on the lowest incomes (those on means tested benefits)
■ £300 payment to people over state pension age.
■ £150 payment to people receiving disability benefits.
■ Additional £1 billion allocated to the Household Support Fund.
■ The increase to the Warm Home Discount from £140 to £150 stays in place and people who haven’t received the £150 Council Tax rebate yet but are entitled to it will still receive it.
Advice Bus & Van
Our advice bus and van have been working extra hard over the last quarter. The bus, van and their teams managed to cover various locations across Hambleton, Richmondshire, Ryedale and Selby districts, bringing advice and support to some of our most vulnerable clients.
With a regular route of locations, our mobile advice team continues to visit new areas; details of upcoming dates are below and more can be found on our website.
Warm & Well Website
We have seen a significant rise in the number of new users to the Warm & Well in North Yorkshire website, with over 2000 unique visits to the site in the last quarter. If you need to make a referral then you can use the online referral form. Please let your client know that calls will come from a withheld number. If your client needs urgent help they can call the Citizens Advice adviceline on 0808 278 7900
Open Invitation
If you would like any further information on how Warm & Well can support either you or your clients do not hesitate to contact the team on 01609 767555 or emailwnw@northyorkslca.org.uk.
Thank you for all your support and we look forward to hearing from you.
Warm & Well in North Yorkshire