To think the government need to drastically increase and overhaul the Warm Home Discount?

[Thoosa]

I’ve been trying to work out how customers on low incomes are going to absorb the fuel price increases.

I’m okay but I will definitely notice the increase. If this had happened when the DC were small, it would have tipped me into insolvency, though.

So I’m thinking the first measure should be to triple or quadruple the WHD, to at least give people a fighting chance. Maybe extend it to anyone who receives child benefit too? AIBU?

Should probably say that at the moment it is apparently £140 per annum for pensioners receiving Pension Credit or people on a low income receiving certain benefits.

www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme

Totally agree. The criteria is too narrow imo. We earn too much for most things, but not huge amounts, we get a bit of tax credits but the rises are going to devastate us, already looking for an evening job to bolster earnings. I suspect it would never happen though due to the cost but yes I agree it should be accessible to those on child benefit.

We get absolutely nothing, but both sets of gparents who retired at 60 and have finally salary pensions get the winter fuel payments!

Personally I’d rather this then the whole £200 “loan and claw back” proposals.

I also think it’s time for the Winter Fuel Payment to be means tested. That would help fund an expansion of Warm Home Discount.

It’s ridiculous that my very comfortable parents get WFP but SIL, who is struggling already, doesn’t qualify for WHD.

@MichelleScarn

We get absolutely nothing, but both sets of gparents who retired at 60 and have finally salary pensions get the winter fuel payments!

X post.

Yes, I agree. It’s madness.

I’ve just been past our local garage and diesel is 187.9 p
Soon folk aren’t going to be able to commute to work to pay their utilities. ITs really worrying

Tbh I had no idea it existed. Got it this year. I use a tiny amount of gas, hardly ever put the heating on, use about 200-300 quid of gas a year. It's the electricity that is expensive.

It's 7° outside and I am comfy without heating, no idea how people don't expire with their 22° heating on at all time.

@vickibee

I’ve just been past our local garage and diesel is 187.9 p Soon folk aren’t going to be able to commute to work to pay their utilities. ITs really worrying

Wow. That’s ridiculous. I don’t think the increases are close to being over, either.

There's not enough money in the pot for all those who already qualify. Opening up the criteria will make no difference. Not unless they put enough money in the pot that everyone who meets the criteria and claims it can have it.

The thing is @BlueSummerBaby we can’t let all our essential workers go under.

I fixed for two years last week at about £350pcm, (after realising the variable would go up and up). That same deal today is more than £500pcm. Even people on reasonable incomes will feel it. People on lower pay will really struggle.

Thinking about it, bringing back subsidies for solar panels would also be good.

We need a raft of measures to help everyone out, and also to move us towards producing more of our own energy.

The economy is going to feel the loss of so much disposable income. People will be spending less generally to offset their increased bills.

I thought they'd already recently reviewed and increased it? Iirc it's going from £140 to .....
£150

£150?! That will hardly help.

The government won't do this. You have noticed its the Conservatives I assume and they aren't known for their love of using public funds to prop up people who are poor.

@Featuredcreature

Tbh I had no idea it existed. Got it this year. I use a tiny amount of gas, hardly ever put the heating on, use about 200-300 quid of gas a year. It's the electricity that is expensive.

It's 7° outside and I am comfy without heating, no idea how people don't expire with their 22° heating on at all time.

It really does depend on the house though.

I try to use the heating twice a day and then at a max of 17 degrees. My house is a house that cannot be insulated and is freezing. Many days, outside is warmer than inside.

You sound very lucky!

@Stripyhoglets1

The government won't do this. You have noticed its the Conservatives I assume and they aren't known for their love of using public funds to prop up people who are poor.

Strange times. The public sector pay increase went through this week. They might just see the sense in this. Or something similar.

@Thoosa

The thing is *@BlueSummerBaby* we can’t let all our essential workers go under.

I fixed for two years last week at about £350pcm, (after realising the variable would go up and up). That same deal today is more than £500pcm. Even people on reasonable incomes will feel it. People on lower pay will really struggle.

I don't understand your comment to me. I think perhaps you've misunderstood my previous comment. I'll try again.

Currently, of all the people who are eligible for Warm Home Discount and who realise this and claim it, only a portion of those people will be given it. The government doesn't make enough money available for the scheme, so not everyone who should get it can get it. Opening up the criteria will make no difference to that. The government needs to provide more money for the scheme as it currently is. And if they're going to open up the criteria to more people, they need to provide a lot more money.

Well that’s a fair point @BlueSummerBaby

The year I would have qualified I don’t know about it. There’s no reason it needs to be run this way, though. It could be paid as a cash bonus to anyone receiving pension credit, ESA, child benefit or UC. With no application needed.

You’re right though, I didn’t realise it was cash-limited and not an absolute entitlement to those who qualified. I fell down a rabbit hole last night reading different ways to subsidise domestic fuel.

We should find the money to make sure half the population don’t fall into fuel poverty, though.

I agree it needs to go up but don’t think it should be for all those on child benefit. We get CB but our household income is over £85k, we don’t need winter fuel allowance. Pensioners who are on good pensions also don’t need it, it should be overhauled so it’s paid to those who really need it and raised whilst energy costs are high.

I’d forgotten the dual income thing about Child benefit. That doesn’t help. Only pensioners on the top up “credit” currently get it, though. If you rolled the un-meanstested WFP into it, it would be a start.

The problem is, the more complicated you make the means test, the more expensive it gets to deliver, and if you make it application-only, lots of people miss out because they’re unaware.

What we need is a universal basic income of £20k or so, which would replace benefits but people would still get it if they worked. You'd then put a punishing tax rate on any earnings over £30k or so (when people would be taking home £50k) to pay for it all. This tax would also apply to private pensions so that pensioners weren't earning more than the average worker. The level would need to adjust with inflation of course.

What we need is a universal basic income of £20k or so, which would replace benefits but people would still get it if they worked. You'd then put a punishing tax rate on any earnings over £30k or so (when people would be taking home £50k) to pay for it all.

You've just included every MP in your proposed brave new world of tax, do you honestly expect a majority of them to vote for this?

where do you think the money would come from to pay for it though ? And the warn home discount people moan a out well off pensioners getting it , they prob would of paid a lot of tax over the years and prob still are so why shouldn't they get it , plus sometimes the admin cost of working out who is eligible and who isn't costs more than the savings

@MorningStarling and then what would be the incentive to work ? Why would i work and be under stress to loose most of it to tax when i could stay home and have it easier or just work part time to stay under the tax threshold