Some families to get a total of £1,200 cash, to support with cost of living crisis.

[flashbac]

Highlights:
All families can now keep the 200 quid energy payment, no longer repayment based. This will be topped up to £400.
Low income families to get £650 straight into bank account.
(Non means tested) disabled benefit recipients to get £150.
All in all some will receive total of £1,200.
Funded by windfall tax.

It would depend on various individual factors such as number of children, disabilities, childcare costs, housing costs, etc.

The wording is 'people in receipt'

We don’t really need the £400 as we only pay around £12 a month in electricity due to solar panels. We could do with the £400 to put towards to solar panel repayments to get them gone quicker. I wonder if we’ll be able to use the money in that way? After all, it’s going towards energy use.

And then people will moan about not being able to get a GP appointment, or a smear test when you need one, or your child will break their arm and have a long wait in A&E. We can't improve the NHS without investment (and much better management of the money we invest) - people can't have it both ways.

It's good news to help towards the energy bills and I hope that the other measures help people to get through these price increases.
I'm sure other things will go up still, but it is better than nothing. At least it hasn't got to be paid back.
It'll take the pressure off for a while. I suppose that a 400 pound cheque would have been welcome , but some people might not have saved it towards the energy bills , this is the only way of making sure it does go towards one thing and not used for other things.
It's what Labour were pushing for too. With the 150 from the council tax too it is better than nothing.
We won't be getting anything next year I bet!
A cut on petrol duty or taking the vat levy off gas and electricity might have helped too , but can't have it all.

This ^

I was laughing at a woman I know vaguely, the other week, who was whining at not getting the £150 council tax rebate, because she's in band F. Her home has 7 bedrooms and is worth £775,000. (Midlands.) Yet she begrudges people having a £150 'handout.' Bet she's on here!

Total kick in the face for low paid care workers (and millions of other low paid workers in education & other sectors)
Sunak is treating us as utter mugs & fools for bothering to go out to work. We’d all (HCA’s & care staff & cleaners, porters) be better off on benefits now. Totally demoralising.
I just hope the unions take action and demand huge pay rises & we have a winter of chaos & strikes in the NHS, education & other sectors.

Many pensioners need to stay warm. I can turn my heating off and wear a hoodie if I want to save money. That simply doesn't work for old bones, and they will have to suck up the cost. My mum said she would absolutely put heating before eating! I don't begrudge them more money off their heating bills at all.

And better in their pockets than the energy companies, anyway. In the past few days they've all been madly tweeting about the money they are giving to struggling families and their investment in green energy. Too little, too late. I have no sympathy and I have some Centrica shares. Shareholders should absolutely do without their dividends while all of this is going on. Although I do think we also need to look at the cause of all this - someone somewhere is profiteering post covid (this started before Russia invaded Ukraine).

I've been a low paid HCA. I could claim benefits to top up my low wage.

I'm definitely much worse off now. (Too ill to work. Not ill enough for any extra help)

There just seems to be a growing mindset (not just on MN, but in everyday life) that we are a nation of benefit scroungers and that the rich prop up the masses, when the stats show that's really not the case.

No I'm just struggling to make ends meet. But not claiming the benefits needed for this payment. Is that so hard to understand in your ivory tower?

It’ll be per person, because that’s how PIP and DLA are calculated and administered.

Yeah I didn’t get that because apparently my house is worth too much, even though I live hand to mouth. Doubt I will get any of the other payments either. The government is convinced that if you have a nice house you must be rich.

@icelolly12 if you are not claiming benefits you are entitled to, that would help you, and that would mean you were able to get this payment I have zero idea how you can come on here and bash others who have made a claim they are entitled to make.

Yes it's a grim prospect today huh?
I despair

Some unions are taking action, is yours @Happyhippy99?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61573206

However, people moan about strike action as well as benefit recipients, sadly.

After 30 plus years of paying a mortgage of various interest rates and amounts it was finally paid off a few years ago.
I qualified for the rebate as in band d.
You can't blame people who were able to afford a bigger house or mortgage years ago being miffed that we received this £ 150 and they didn't because they have a higher tax band home. House prices went mad in the 90s and although it's worth loads now they still probably had to scrimp to pay their bills when they first bought it etc. I do get why people are fed up and they probably think the same of us, mortgage free (now) but still getting money back. It does feel unfair doesn't it ? I can see that , but that's how they are doing it this year and I was surprised we qualified for it.

My friend is receiving carers allowance and only pays a very tiny amount in council tax, but I don't begrudge her this as she couldn't pay the full amount , it would be impossible for them to pay what we pay each month
It's all swings and roundabouts really.

Will we get the extra £150 for DS17 who receives the highest rate of PIP?

The people in those jobs, unless other members in the household are higher earners, will be entitled to UC and as such the £650 top up.

This is exactly what I mean. I couldn’t give a crap if people send me biscuits, at least I could eat them! I’m sick to death of being the ones that just miss out on everything. We will be cold and hungry this winter. I won’t be able to afford the fuel to get me to my 2 jobs to pay for all these bills. Yet all we ever get is more and more taken off us.

Those who are resentful and envious of the payments others will be entitled to, maybe direct your ire to where it should be aimed?

The Tories brought in austerity, destroyed public services, drove down wages and eroded worker's rights. It is their raison d'être to keep ordinary people down while increasing the riches of the wealthy and privileged. Always has been, always will be.

Turning on your fellow citizens instead of Tories is EXACTLY what the Tories want. It is their wet dream.

@LadyCatStark

I’m sick to death of being the ones that just miss out on everything. We will be cold and hungry this winter. I won’t be able to afford the fuel to get me to my 2 jobs to pay for all these bills. Yet all we ever get is more and more taken off us.

Most people have been in this position at some time in their life, not just you. Stop being so resentful and angry just because people struggling financially on benefits, pensions, disability allowances etc, are being given some help. And why have you got 2 jobs? Someone on benefits could have one of them. You seem to be resentful and angry towards people on benefits, and yet you are hogging TWO bloody jobs!

What happens if an energy bill for the 6 months is less than 400 pounds? Do the utilities companies just keep the remaining part that isn't spent or will it be credit for the rest of the year.

Surely it’s easy to see why a strike causes huge difficulties

People on even lower pay can’t get to work and relying on that pay

Yes adding Carer’s allowance to the “pip & dla” qualified group would have been fairer.