Worcestershire Household Support Fund Phase 4 – Autumn & Winter 2023/24

Welcome to the Worcestershire Household Support Fund, the scheme is OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS.

Please note the scheme will close over the Christmas period from:

5pm on Wednesday 20th December, re-opening at midday on Tuesday 2nd January

You can only apply online during the time periods stating ‘OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS’ and the application in most instances should be made using the online form.

If you are unable to access the internet/online form you can call us on 0800 988 2881 and one of our team will process the application for you. PLEASE NOTE, that you can only apply by phone during the periods stated as ‘OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS’.

Once you have applied, we will automatically have your application on record, and we will deal with it in the order received. Please do not apply more than once as this doesn’t help you to receive support quicker – it only adds to delays in our admin process with duplicate applications, so please ensure that you request all the help you want to apply for at that point and most importantly that you provide the required evidence! There is also no need to chase up your application as we will be in touch with you once your application has been approved/processed.

Please understand that this is not an EMERGENCY SERVICE and that payments are not instant, in some cases it can take up to four weeks for payments to reach your energy accounts sometimes longer depending on your supplier.

We politely ask that you do not call demanding updates on when payments will be received, you must remain patient and wait for your case to be processed. Please remember we are dealing with 1000’s applications and your application will be dealt with as soon as possible and not before.

There are no exceptions and we will not pull cases forward of other applicants who applied sooner.

IF YOU HAVE APPLIED BEFORE PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE DATE LINES BELOW – PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT YOU NOW HAVE TO PROVIDE INCOME EVIDENCE FOR ALL APPLICATIONS & HOUSEHOLDS IN RECEIPT OF BENEFITS WILL ALSO BE SUBJECT TO A DEPARTMENT OF WORK & PENSIONS BENEFIT CHECK.

CRITERIA – How do I qualify for help?

For those who have previously received funding from the Household Support Fund prior to 30^th September 2022 you can now re-apply for funding – subject to the conditions set out below. We will let you know if your application has been successful as soon as we can – but this may take a few weeks.

If you received assistance between October 1st 2022 and September 30th 2023 you cannot apply again, first time applicants and applicants who applied as stated in point 1 above will only be considered at the current time.

Does your household . . .

1. Live in the following district council areas – Bromsgrove, Malvern, Redditch, Worcester City, Wychavon, Wyre Forest?

2. Have a combined gross household income of no more than £31,000.00 per year including any non means tested benefits

3. In receipt of means tested benefits with a gross household income of no more than £31,000 per year

4. Have no household savings – certain exclusions apply for household’s of pensionable age?

5. Have someone living with a vulnerability?

Worcestershire County Council will check all applicants who have ticked that they are in receipt of benefit’s with the Department of Work & Pensions DWP.

To support your application all applicants must provide the National Insurance number NINO of the lead applicant whether you are in receipt of benefit’s or not. Providing the correct number is critical, an incorrect number will come back unmatched when the DWP check is run for benefit households and this will delay your application as you will then be asked to provide paper evidence from the Dept of work & Pensions and/or additonal evidence.

What does a National Insurance Number (NINO) looks like

A NINO is made up of 2 letters, 6 numbers and a final letter, which is always A, B, C, or D.

It will look something like this:

QQ 12 34 56 A – This is an example only and should not be used as an actual number.

If your household satisfies the criteria above, you can continue with your application for support through the Worcestershire Household Support Fund

What help may be available to you?

Subject to funding and eligibility criteria, this fund could offer qualifying residents across the county of Worcestershire the following:

• Financial support toward current energy and water costs
• Financial support toward energy and water debts only
• Assistance to repair, service and replace broken boilers and heating systems

What do we mean by vulnerability?

• Long term diagnosed and treated health conditions e.g., COPD
• Self-employed individuals who have been unable to work or whose income has been impacted by specific situations
• Households with unmanageable debt
• Disabled and in receipt of DLA or PIP
• Other vulnerabilities disclosed by household’s not on the list but accepted at AOE’s discretion

SUPPORT EXPLAINED

1. Financial support toward current energy and water costs

This is open to the following utility types:

• Electricity
• Gas
• Water
• Oil
• LPG
• Solid Fuel (e.g. Coal or Wood)

Dependent on your household’s method of payment and upon the decision of the Household Support Fund Team, this support may come in the form of a direct payment to your energy supplier or as a voucher redeemable at a Post Office.

This support is available to the below household types:

1. Households with children under the age of 18, or young adults up to the age of 21 in full time education, can receive up to £500 via direct payment to their energy supplier or redeemable payments at the Post Office for some types of pay-as-you-go meters.

2. Households with adults only, aged between 18 & 66 can receive up to £300 via direct payment to your energy supplier or redeemable payments at the Post Office for some types of pay-as-you-go meters.

3. Households with one adult or a couple of pensionable age can receive up to £300 via direct payment to your energy supplier or redeemable payments at the Post Office for some types of pay-as-you-go meters.

Applicants will be required to provide evidence of their customer account with their energy or water provider. All Applicants including those in receipt of benefits will need to provide evidence of the gross household income e.g. bank statements

Your energy/ water bill evidence must show your:

• Name, and
• Address, and
• Customer account number

Your income evidence must show all occupants income, this can be sent as individual bank statements for each member, wage slips. P60, etc.

Evidence will be accepted in the following formats:

• a photo, screenshot, or paper copy of a recent utility bill or bank statement, wage slip
• a photo or screenshot of your online account with your utility provider (must show your account number, name and address).

Digital evidence to be emailed to: worcestershirehsf@actonenergy.org.uk

Paper evidence to be posted to: Act on Energy, Unit 2, Lauriston Business Park, Salford Priors, Warwickshire WR11 8SN.

Your application WILL NOT be processed until the supporting evidence has been provided.

2. Financial support toward energy & water debts only – available subject to funding

This is open to the following utility types:

• Electricity
• Gas
• Water

Debt is an amount owing that is not your usual monthly payment e.g. if you usually pay £300 per month and that is the amount showing on your most recent bill, this is not classed as debt. If however your usual monthly payment is £300 but you have fallen behind with payments and owe £600 in addition to the monthly payment this is classed as debt.

Payment of debt is discretionary and based on the circumstances, how we assess whether you qualify for help is based on a number of factors, the following are examples that would score negatively or positively when you put your application in:

NEGATIVES – The negatives do not mean help wont be offered but the amount of assistance may be reduced and you would be required to fully engage in a money management programme with Citizens advice.

• Regular subscriptions/Payments for services deemed as luxuries e.g. Sky, Netflix, Amazon Prime
• Regular payments for fast food and takeaways in addition to your weekly food shop
• High value mobile phone contracts

POSTITIVES that show you have made an effort to try and reduce the debt owed and are self managing your debt well.

• Clear evidence of good money management and none or limited services deemed as luxuries like Sky, Netflix, etc.
• Low outgoings on non essential items like fast food
• Pay as you go mobile phones
• Budget plans in place with energy supplier and others

All debt cases must agree to support from a debt advisory organisation either Step Change or Citizen’s advice Worcestershire.

Debt assistance is capped as follows:

• Debts up to £1000 will be offered up to 50% financial assistance
• Debt over £1001 will be offered up to 75% financial assistance

The maximum amount of assistance offered towards debt is £2500 so you would have to have energy or water debt in excess of £3125 to receive the maximum assistance. Other factors will also be considered and taken into account e.g. if you have received financial help through the scheme before.

If you tick debt on your initial online application this will automatically trigger us to send you an application form which will include full details of how to apply, you don’t need to do anything else at this stage.

3. Assistance to repair, service and replace broken boilers and heating systems – available subject to funding

This support is only offered to the following tenures of housing:

1. Owner Occupiers:

• Must have owned the property for a minimum of 12 months.
• The property must not be on the market for sale or due to go on the market for sale.

2. Shared Ownership households who have a contracted duty to repair:

• Must have owned the property for a minimum of 12 months.
• The property must not be on the market for sale or due to go on the market for sale.

3. Long term private rented tenants who have a contracted duty to repair * This does not include replacement

This support is open to heating systems of all fuel types and covers the following:

• Replacement of boilers (all fuel types) beyond economic repair / or replacement of parts/ repair.
• Replacement or repair of other types of heating systems e.g. storage heaters
• Installation of first-time heating systems where a gas supply is present
• Replacement of broken warm air systems to gas fired wet radiator systems
• Repair/ replacement/ installation of standard or smart heating controls
• Servicing

If you tick help with repairing or replacing your boiler on your initial online application this will automatically trigger us to send you an application form which will include full details of how to apply, you don’t need to d anything else at this stage.

HOW TO APPLY

Before registering your interest, please note:

1. There is no guarantee of support.

2. This is not an emergency scheme.

3. If you were successful in receiving support through the previous Worcestershire Household Support Fund, you can apply again provided you received help prior to 30^th September 2022. If you received help more recently your application will be ignored. Priority will be given to households that have made no previous application.

REFERRALS

We accept referrals from both Professional Referrers and friends or family members.

To register your interest in Worcestershire Household Support Scheme – Phase 4, please complete and submit the ‘Online Self Certification Application form’ available by clicking this link or the button below.

TERMS OF THE SCHEME

If you are applying for Energy Payment support you will need to provide details of your energy and/or water supplier, oil or LPG supplier on the online application including their name and your energy/water account number. In addition, you will need to send a copy of your latest bill and if applicable income evidence to worcestershirehsf@actonenergy.org.uk please include in the email heading your name and postcode, this information is essential to process the payment. If you are having trouble providing a copy of your bill, please don’t worry and call us on 0800 988 2881.

To replace a broken heating system or boiler you will be emailed or posted a separate application form. You will need to complete it and return it alongside your supporting evidence before your application can be considered.

We reserve the right to ask each applicant applying for assistance to provide evidence to support their application. If we request evidence this will be made by email or phone, the information you send needs to be emailed to worcestershirehsf@actonenergy.org.uk or sent to:
Worcestershire Household Support Fund, FREEPOST RUAY-JCSS-GLCC, Act on Energy, Unit 2, Lauriston Business Park, Pitchill, EVESHAM, WR11 8SN

How long will it be before I receive help?

Fuel Payments and Fuel Vouchers
The Household Support Fund is not an emergency service. We will endeavour to make fuel payments once the coucnil have approved your case after they have run the DWP check or upon receipt of the correctly completed form and supply of evidence. Please do not call and chase payments within this time period as this will not make the process any quicker, you will be advised by email when a payment has been made. These schemes are very admin-heavy so help is not always available immediately and it may take up to ten working days for the fuel payments to appear on your energy accounts.

Fuel Debt
Once we receive your completed application, with the correct supporting evidence, if approved, your case will then be referred to Step Change or Citizens Advice, you must engage with these services before any payments can be released.

Physical Interventions
Applicants will be required to complete application forms and return these with evidence. Installations of boilers, etc., are subject to quotations and approval. Unfortunately, work is not guaranteed to take place but once approved, this process can take some time, depending on the measures and availability of contractors.

TOLERANCE

We understand that people may feel frustrated during the application process but if those feelings escalate into verbal abuse and aggression towards our staff, we consider that to be unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Please respect our staff – they are here to help and will be doing everything they can to bring your case to a satisfactory conclusion. Please note that funding is discretionary and could be withdrawn if deemed necessary.

This webpage has been last updated on 1.11.2023 at 10:00 (GMT+1)