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.

Caring duties have to total more than 35 hours a week to qualify for £69.70 a week - this is the equivalent of a full time job already. And the £132 earnings cap doesn’t exactly make them rich. Disabled people who claim PIP/DLA aren’t all considered unable to work either but all have been given an extra £150 so that argument doesn’t stand up. The government know how much work unpaid carers do, they know their value and they know how much they save the tax payer and take the pressure off already overstretched public services and yet they’ve seen fit to overlook them here. Sadly, not surprised.

They’ve thrown money at this rather than trying to find a long term solution - basically to attempt to shut us up imo

I don’t disagree with that and long term plans need to be put in place but sticking plasters like this are needed while longer term things are put in place because otherwise for many the wounds will be too big to heal.

I’ve been reading all this as a few family members will benefit but I don’t get why UC get the £650 split in July and autumn and tax credits get it in autumn and winter. Rather bizarre. I get trying to not bugger it up but there’s a big gap between July and sometime in autumn.

But people on Carer's Allowance are not considered unable to work as they are allowed to earn up to £132 per week before losing the £69.70 per week allowance. well quite. But if I could find suitable affordable childcare for DS I'd have a full time job and wouldn't claim carers.

I think it is something to do with the computer system. I remember this happened with the Covid grant, £500 I think it was.

And carers allowance basic eligibility means you have to be caring for someone for 35 hours a week - the equivalent of a full time job for £69.70 a week. Social Services charge twice that for less than ten hours a week. Unpaid carers save the country a fortune, but sadly, it’s not surprising they’ve been overlooked.

Well to the person who said they might as well give up work!!!

I work, part time as I’m a single parent. So I’ll get the £400. I get child tax credits too so I’ll hopefully get the £650 and my child also received DLA so that’ll be the £150 as well. So yes, £1200. However, my salary went down last month due to the NI rise. My gas and electric went up £120 per month. The fuel for my car has gone up - I’ve reverted back to the E 5 fuel now though as it might be a bit more but it lasts much longer so actually cheaper but still more than previous. All my other bills have gone up.

I can’t work overtime (p/t teacher so not really a thing) and even if I could it would just lower my tax credits by the extra amount so pointless. Catch 22 until I can ever go full time and totally come off tax credits.

so, not everyone getting this money is sitting at home not working and claiming benefits. Some of us do actually work. I do however worry about those dual income households who are still struggling to heat and eat. I also worry about those disabled families who need to run lots of expensive energy draining equipment (dialysis machines, oxygen machines, electric wheelchairs, electric lifts to access their home, hoists, monitoring equipment etc just to stay alive) as these things are so expensive to run.

Anything will be a help but doesn't solve the problem that the energy companies can do what they want and keep charging extortionate amounts. Something needs to be done about THEM, not a temporary plaster to cover many open wounds which will become evermore infected.

Also yes this will create an ever widening divide and contentious dissatisfaction between workers and people on benefits. Unless you earn well above the minimum wage you are going to, well already are, be hit and struggling. It's a no win situation for anyone unless you do earn a big wage. The £400 will help to cover maybe a month and a half of the new prices on an average income until the prices rise again.

Personally I've gone from paying £170 pm, which was too much and got a refund of £200, now up to £267 while being careful so guessing next time will be over £300 for what?? Using less, both at work, kids at school, bloody standing charges!

They should abolish the standing charges for the meters. It really is terrible .

@SleepingStandingUp you will get the £150 for your ds , there is no age limit.

Yes, the £400 universal credit to your energy bill, and £150 one off benefit payment.

The price cap goes up by £800 it would depend how much you use on how much extra you pay

OK thanks. I assumed as he wasn't a bill payer we wouldn't

When they say low earners are they looking at joint income or for each person? Do you have to be on UC?

As yhere is no applying and going straight to people I imagine it is for those on qualifying benefits.

Repost but these are the benefits which will mean you are eligible for the £650

@SleepingStandingUp I think the government have used their common sense for once, and realised that parents of disabled dc will be in one of the hardest hit groups with the cost of living crisis.

When they say low earners are they looking at joint income or for each person? Do you have to be on UC?
I assume joint otherwise DW earning £200k and DH part SAHP earning £10k would mean the household would benefit by him.

It says low income families, not low earners, so will be if you are on a low joint income and get the specified benefits.

Very well said! We totally agree. The benefits system is broken like the rest of the country. Honest hard working people always get hit the hardest. This country is a joke, always has been always will be. But to be fair it is the same the world over.

So in a large nutshell...

The gov gave the utility companies permission to charge us all a LOT more.....

Made HUGE amounts of profits...

Now the Gov, to cover up other misdeeds and seem to be the nice guys.. are going to charge a windfall tax on a small portion of these huge profits...

Then redistribute that to some of the overcharged customers................

Whilst knowing all along that all will be handed straight back to the very same companies.. and no doubt costing us, the taxpayer a fortune to administer this smoke and mirrors.

They already gave these companies th go-ahead to raise prices horrendously higher in Sept, they might as well have just handed them the cash to keep direct, cos thats exactly where it will all go, not fancy tellys that no-one will be able to afford to switch on anymore

I had, after paying rent this week, 42 pounds left for everything else, I put 10 on the electricity and blew the rest on a bit of marked down food... sadly I got my sums wrong and am currently looking at 26p left on the meter I cant even produce one hot meal this week for my family despite having some food for once. The food we do have will likely go off if its warm this weekend as the fridge wont be cold for long....this sucks and there is absolutely nothing i can do about it, nothing at all, I tried asking the supplier nicely for a little bit of emergency credit, the line went dead and i cant call back as that was the last i had on my phone.

Universal Credit payments are not based on how many hours you work, UC is based on your income. I’ve never seen threads where people are working minimum hours purely for maximum benefit, it’s usually because they’re limited in some way from working more than that - caring duties, disability or their employer reducing their hours etc. I’ve also seen plenty of threads where people are reporting that if they have a reduction in income, UC will check that they’ve asked for more hours/increased pay and have been refused, before they will increase the amount of UC claimed. I’m not saying that the system is not broken - I agree with you, it is. But blaming the claimant isn’t the answer.

By the time this help arrives, we've yet to see the 150 c tax help, we wont have a home to worry about heating, or else one of us will have withered away from hunger, which I suppose would keep the food and running costs down a bit..........

I don’t understand why people can claim it on second houses (if they pay gas and electric bills there). Surely if someone can afford to own 2 houses they aren’t on the breadline and also if they use it as a holiday let, the cost is passed on to the customer anyway!

mibbsXX what an awful situation for you. I know it’s never nice having to ask but do you have a relative or friend who could help you top up the metre? Or even freeze all the food that won’t keep until you can use it.

I wish I could offer something more useful to help.