Cost of Living Help From the UK Government – What You Need to Know

On May 26 the UK Government announced a substantial package of help in response to the so-called “cost of living crisis.” The aim is to relieve the pressure on household budgets – particularly as a result of soaring energy bills which are expected to rise once again in the autumn.

This package of help affects EVERYONE so we have put together an easy to understand guide for Thenue tenants and factored owners to cut through the jargon. We will have more on this subject in our next Newsletter - due later this year where we will explain further all of the developments.

Meantime this is what is happening:
Every household will receive a £400 energy grant. THIS DOES NOT HAVE TO BE REPAID. Bill payers WILL NOT NEED to contact their energy company as the grant will be automatically applied to every household bill in October. Direct debit and credit users will have the money credited to their account, while those with pre-payment meters will have the money applied to their meter or paid via a voucher. It replaces the £200 loan announced by the Government earlier this year. This is now scrapped. Additionally, around eight million of the lowest income households will receive £650. This is over and above the £400 energy grant already mentioned. It will be paid to households on “means-tested benefits” and will be sent direct to bank accounts.

The Government will make this payment in TWO lump sums, the first from July this year, the second in the autumn, with payments for those on tax credits following shortly after. Meanwhile, more than eight million pensioner households in receipt of winter fuel payments will be given an extra “pensioner cost-of-living payment” of £300. This is in addition to the money you already receive each year (usually in November or December) to help with winter fuel costs.

Those who receive non-means-tested disability benefits will be sent an extra one-off disability cost-of-living payment of £150 from September. Many within this group will also receive the £650 payment mentioned earlier taking their total cost of living help to £800.
You do not need to do anything to make sure you receive your payments. It will not require any additional form-filling and will be paid via existing account set-ups.

Thenue fully recognises the difficulties the soaring cost of living is having on our tenants. If you are having difficulty paying your rent please get in touch with us as soon as possible. Early intervention is essential in order that we can work out how you can manage your rent payments. Remember we are here to help and when you contact us this is always done in the strictest confidence.
Commenting on the UK Government announcement our Chief Executive Gary Naylor said: “We welcome any help that relieves the cost of living pressure on our customers. As this situation develops we will monitor and keep you up to date at all times.

“Meanwhile, our Financial Inclusion team is working very hard to make sure you receive everything you are entitled to – particularly in terms of State benefits and I encourage you to contact us to see if we can help.”
Our most recent newsletter – which can be downloaded from our website – covers how we are helping you to beat the squeeze in our special “Cashpoint” section.

Contacting the Financial Inclusion team can be done in a variety of ways:
Call us on 0141 550 9554/9553
Email us on financial.inclusion@thenuehousing.co.uk
Use our Mobile app