Benefits update - Winter Fuel Payments

 

Benefits update - Winter Fuel Payments

Welcome to Blesma's regular section on the benefits system. As well as highlighting some useful information regarding the benefits system, on occasions we will be raising awareness of some health and social care matters. If you would like to discuss your benefit entitlement or have a social care query, please contact your Blesma Support Officer. Alternatively, you can contact Liz Watling in the Independence and Wellbeing team by email at iwabenefits@blesma.org or by calling her on 0208 548 7080.

Help with Heating Costs and support schemes

Now that the seasons have changed and the colder weather will be with us for some months to come, we are highlighting some of the ways in which the Government can support you with your heating costs and energy bills. There are a number of initiatives and entitlement to the support can depend on age or income.

Winter Fuel Payment

This is an annual lump sum payment of between £100 and £300 to help pensioners with heating costs. You qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment if both the following apply:

• You were born on or before 26th September 1955
• You have lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of 20 to 26 September 2021 (known as the ‘qualifying week’)

If you did not live in the UK during the qualifying week you might still get the payment if both the following apply:

• You live in Switzerland or a European Economic Area country
• You have a genuine link with the UK social security system, such as having lived or worked in the UK for most of your life

You cannot receive the payment if you live in Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal, or Spain because the average winter temperature is higher than the warmest region of the UK.

You will not qualify if you meet one of the following excluding conditions:

• You are in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year
• You lived in a care home for the whole time between 28 June and 26 September 2021, and received Pension Credit, Income Support, income based Jobseeker’s Allowance, or income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• You were in prison for the whole week between 20-26 September 2021
• You need permission to enter the UK and your granted leave states that you cannot claim public funds

How to claim

You should automatically receive a payment without making a claim if either:

• You received a payment last year and your circumstances have not changed
• You are getting State Pension or another social security benefit (excluding Child Benefit, Universal Credit, Council Tax Reduction, and Housing Benefit)

You will receive a letter around three weeks before your payment. These letters will be sent between mid-October and November. Your bank statement will have the reference ‘DWP Winter Fuel’.

Most payments are paid automatically in November or December. You should get payment automatically by 14 January 2022.

If you are not entitled to an automatic payment but still meet the criteria, you must make a claim. For a claim form, call 0800 731 0160. The form must be received by the Winter Fuel Payment Centre by 31 March 2022.

If you are entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment and your only government-paid income is from a War Pension or War Widows Pension, your Winter Fuel Payment will be processed by Veterans UK.

For any queries please call the Winter Fuel Payment Centre 0800 731 0160

WARM HOME DISCOUNT SCHEME (England, Scotland, and Wales)

This is a £140 credit to your electricity bill. You can also qualify if you use a pre-pay or pay as you go electricity meter. There are two ways to qualify for the Warm Home Discount Scheme:

• You get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit – known as the ‘core group’
• You are on a low income and meet your energy supplier’s criteria for the scheme – known as the ‘broader group’

How to claim

CORE GROUP

You qualify for the discount if, on 04 July 2021, all of the following applied:

• Your electricity supplier was part of the scheme
• Your name (or your partner’s) was on the bill
• You were getting the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit

If you qualify for the core group, you should receive a letter between October and December 2021 telling you how to get the discount. Your letter will inform you as to whether you need to call a helpline by 28 February 2022 to confirm your details. Your electricity supplier will apply your discount to your bill by 31 March 2022. If you are eligible for the core group and do not receive a letter, contact the Warm Home Discount Team on 0800 731 0214.

BROADER GROUP

You may be able to apply directly to your electricity supplier for help if you do not qualify under the core group rules. You may qualify if, on 04 July 2021, all of the following applied:

• You were on a low income
• You received certain means-tested benefits
• Your electricity supplier was part of the scheme
• Your name (or your partner’s) was on the bill

Your electricity supplier decides its own criteria for the scheme. Do not contact the Warm Home Discount Scheme. Check with your supplier to see if it is part of the scheme, if you are eligible, and how to apply. If entitled, your electricity supplier will apply your discount to your bill by 31 March 2022.

PARK (MOBILE) HOMES

You apply a different way if you live in a park home. The scheme is available for permanent residents living in a Park Home in England, Scotland or Wales who pay their electricity bills directly to their park site owner. Park homes applications open in the autumn and there is a restriction on numbers who can receive a payment.

Applications are considered on a first come first served basis. The Park Homes Warm Home Discount scheme for 2021/22 is now closed as it has reached the maximum number of applications.

Subject to Ofgem guidance, it is anticipated the Park Homes Warm Home Discount scheme will re-open again in September 2022. The fund is administered by Charis Grants. To register your interest for 2022 you can leave your details at https://charisgrants.com/individuals/ You will then be contacted when the scheme opens in September 2022 to see if you would like to make an application.

Charis Grants can only answer questions about the Park Homes Warm Home Discount

The Warm Home Discount Scheme is not available in Northern Ireland but there is the Affordable Warmth Scheme which aims to address the effects of fuel poverty and energy inefficiency. The scheme is directed at low income households. Contact your local council to see if you qualify for help.

COLD WEATHER PAYMENT

This is an automatic payment of £25 for each qualifying week (between 01 November and 31 March) if the average temperature forecast over seven consecutive days at the designated weather station for your area is 0°C or lower and you have been awarded one of the following benefits:

• Pension Credit
• Income Support or income based Job Seeker’s Allowance and you have either:
• A disability or pensioner premium
• A disabled child
• Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
• A child under five living with you
• Income related Employment and Support Allowance and you are in either the work related activity group or support group. If you are not in either group, you may get a payment if you have either:
• A severe or enhanced disability premium
• A pensioner premium
• A disabled chid
• Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
• A child under five living with you
• Universal Credit, as long as you are not employed, or self employed, and you have either:
• A limited capability for work element
• A disabled child element (whether you are employed or not)
• A child living with you
• Support for mortgage interest

You are not entitled to a Cold Weather Payment if you are living in a care home.

You do not need to make a claim for a Cold Weather Payment. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), or Department for Communities in Northern Ireland, should automatically pay you if you qualify, as it will be aware of your means-tested benefit entitlement.

Universal Credit

The temporary increase of £20 per week for Universal Credit standard allowances ended in October. This increase was put in pace by the government as a temporary measure to support those on the lowest incomes at the start of the pandemic. If you are a claimant of Universal Credit you should have received updated information to your journal advising of the date of change for your claim and you are also provided with a link which sign posts you to advice and support for managing your money.

Post Office Card Accounts

In recent bulletins, we have advised of Post Office card accounts due to end in November 2021. The government have now extended the closure for a further year until November 2022 this for another year. This is in order to allow time to safely move existing users over to traditional bank accounts or a new Payment Exception Service

The Department for Work and Pensions is writing to all customers who currently receive payment into a POca, telling them the service is ending and encouraging those who are able to open a bank account to do so.

Those who remain unable to access such services will be migrated onto a new Payment Exception Service, which allows them to choose how they receive their payments.