Government changes guidance on energy bill support payment
Money Box
BBC
4.2 • 825 Ratings
🗓️ 28 May 2022
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Some government guidance to give some people a £150 council tax rebate in April to help with record energy bills has been changed. The treasury says it was always clear, including its press notice and the leaflet which went out to millions of households, that the £150 council tax rebate to help with the cost of living would be paid “from” April. More on this story.
More than two million people who rely on six means-tested state benefits are going to be moved to the newer benefit Universal Credit over the next couple of years. Just over half of them will be better off on Universal Credit, but the government estimates 900,000 people will be entitled to less money. The Department for Work and Pensions says Universal Credit is a dynamic system which adjusts as people earn more or indeed less, and simplifies the safety net for those who cannot work. We'll speak to a benefits advisor about the transition.
And, we'll hear from an 83-year-old grandmother who says her financial independence has been taken away after extra security measures her bank brought in mean she can no longer shop online. It's part of new procedures were imposed across the banking industry.
Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researcher: Sandra Hardial Editor: Jess Quayle
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one. |
| 0:06.5 | I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:11.2 | I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects, |
| 0:16.0 | relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life. |
| 0:22.4 | So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature, |
| 0:28.3 | and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience, and maybe that's you. |
| 0:33.6 | So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:39.4 | BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts. |
| 0:43.1 | Hello, welcome to this Moneybox podcast. |
| 0:46.1 | The government is changing the benefits paid to more than two and a half million people, |
| 0:50.5 | which it estimates will leave hundreds of thousands worse off. |
| 0:55.6 | How can you reduce the monthly direct debits demanded by your energy company? And an 83-year-old tells us she can no longer |
| 1:02.0 | shop online due to new security measures. But first, remember this. We're going to give people |
| 1:08.4 | a £150 £1.50 £1.50 to rebate to help with the cost of energy in April. |
| 1:16.0 | Well, that was the Chancellor, of course, Rishi Sunak in February, telling Parliament that households in Council Tax Bands A to D in England would get a one-off special payment of £150 in April to help with their energy bills, |
| 1:29.6 | and that was repeated in a news conference and an interview with the BBC's newscast. |
| 1:34.2 | A fact sheet issued at the time by the Treasury, which I have an original copy of, also said it would be paid in April. |
| 1:41.3 | But Moneybox has found that the fact sheet was subsequently changed to say from April |
| 1:45.7 | rather than in. And that's created some confusion amongst our listeners about when their money |
| 1:50.9 | would be paid. And today, on this last day of April, many people have still not got their payment |
| 1:57.3 | nor been told when it might be made. Well, just before we came on air, the Treasury |
| 2:01.7 | told us, we've always been clear, including in our press notice and the leaflet which went out |
... |
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