claimants who are not receiving the £150 energy discount will need to contact their Jobcentre Plus office to claim the discount.

Key Highlights :

1. 290,000 people have missed out on the Warm Home Discount.

2. The scheme pays a one-off sum of £150 into household electricity accounts between October and March – but many were shocked to find they have been excluded.

3. People claiming the DWP disability benefits Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) were removed from the eligibility list this time around.

4. But many were unaware of the rule change.

5. As the new rules came to light, a petition was raised criticising the "impossible criteria" for the discount and demanding that the Government "give back vital support to the most vulnerable, disabled and sick."

6. Official figures show that the number of people on PIP and DLA to get the discount has dropped by 290,000, or 35 per cent.

7. In order to get the discount, they need to be on an eligible means-tested benefit as well – because those people tend to be finding the cost of living crisis much tougher.

8. Fuel poverty is measured by looking at income, energy usage and fuel costs.

9. The benefits that now qualify for the Warm Home Discount are Pension Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Income Support, Universal Credit, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit and – for the first time – Housing Benefit.

10. Specific criteria can be found at the GOV.UK webpage here .

11. In its shake-up that has caught many by surprise, the Government said in an official consultation document that it was "making fundamental reforms to the scheme so that those low-income households most likely to be living in homes that are expensive to heat will receive the rebate."

12. DWP says that to include non-means-tested benefits such as PIP and DLA "would mean that higher-income households would become eligible for rebates and lower-income households would lose out."

According to recent reports, the UK Government has come under fire for suggesting that people on disability benefits are not in enough 'fuel poverty' with their energy bills. The comments were made in a Parliamentary Answer by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in January 2013.

The DWP stated that 1.9 million people were in fuel poverty due to their disability benefits. However, the department also claimed that this figure was based on a "crude measure of energy affordability" that did not account for the actual energy use of individuals.

In contrast, the DWP claimed that a "more refined measure of energy affordability" indicated that the proportion of disabled people in fuel poverty was much lower at 0.6%. According to the department, this is because disabled people are more likely to have access to energy-saving measures like the Warm Home Discounts and the Low Emission Home Scheme.

The DWP further stated that the proportion of disabled people in fuel poverty was also lower than the proportion of people of all ages in England who are in fuel poverty. However, critics argue that this argument ignores the fact that disabled people often require more energy to heat their homes due to medical conditions and disabilities.

Furthermore, disabled people may also face additional costs related to their disabilities, such as equipment, care and medical expenses. These costs can eat into their disposable income, making it harder to pay for basic necessities like heating.

The issue of fuel poverty is a complex one that affects millions of people in the UK. The government has been criticized in the past for not doing enough to address the issue, particularly among vulnerable groups like the elderly and disabled.

While measures like the Warm Home Discounts and the Low Emission Home Scheme are undoubtedly helpful, more needs to be done to ensure that people can afford to heat their homes adequately. This could include greater investment in energy efficiency measures and targeted support for those who are most in need.

Ultimately, the government's comments on disability benefits and fuel poverty have sparked an important debate about how we measure and tackle this pressing issue. It is clear that more needs to be done to ensure that everyone in the UK has access to affordable and reliable energy, regardless of their circumstances.

Continue Reading at Source : cambridgenews