The UK Government has announced that the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding application portal will not open this month as previously planned, instead the online hub and telephone helpline is expected to be up and running by Monday, February 27, 2023.
The one-off, non-repayable lump sum will be delivered by local authorities in Scotland, England and Wales and aims to provide financial support to around 900,000 households without a direct relationship with a domestic electricity supplier. This includes people who live in park homes, houseboats, off-grid and care homes, or those paying their energy bills as part of an all-inclusive rental agreement with their landlord.
Energy Minister Graham Stuart told MPs in the House of Commons last week of the revised opening date, explaining that due to the complex nature of the application process it was essential to get it right first time otherwise payments to hundreds of thousands of households could be delayed.
Some 29 million households across Great Britain are already receiving monthly discounts through the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS).
Mr Stuart told MPs: “The EBSS alternative funding sounds simple, but it is not. It is a novel scheme with ambitious timescales. It is a complex cohort with a range of different energy arrangements, including off grid, direct to commercial and via intermediaries.
“When we were looking at February delivery for the portal, I challenged it. A few days ago, I met the four pilot local authorities, which are across the devolved nations of Great Britain, to talk about the situation. We must make sure that we sort out all those complexities because, if we do not get it right first time, the pilot authorities say it would delay payments to consumers.
“My priority is to get funding to people as quickly as possible.”
He also explained that "robust fraud checks are necessary in an application-based system, to which there is no alternative for this group" and every step of the process must be tested.
Mr Stuart said: “Where people are not already receiving the main EBSS, we have to look after public money by making sure their bank accounts are verified and legitimate, and that they live at the address. Those records are held across Government, local authorities and banks, so a complex case-management system is required.
“Local authorities need to be able to access the system securely, which requires multi-factor authentication, and some local authorities do not have the ability to implement that quickly.
“Robust fraud checks are necessary in an application-based system, to which there is no alternative for this group. Each iteration of the application process needs to be tested.”
He added: “I am confident that we will have the portal up by or on Monday 27 February. We will work with local authorities, upon which we rely, and I thank the four pilot authorities and other local authorities.
“We need to make sure that their staff are trained, that the complexities are dealt with and that they have a robust system, so that they can swiftly process applications and make sure families get the money they so direly need.”
We will update this article and the Daily Record Money Saving Scotland Facebook group as soon as more details about the £400 application portal are made available.
Who can claim the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding?
Online applications are scheduled to open on February 27 for households in Scotland, England and Wales who are eligible for the £400 one-off payment to submit their details.
Payments to households that meet the eligibility criteria - including people who get their energy through a commercial contract or who are off-grid - will be made by local authorities in Great Britain.
The UK Government said this is likely to include:
- care home residents
- park home residents
- tenants in certain private and social rented homes
- homes supplied via private wires
- residents of caravans and houseboats on registered sites
- farmers living in domestic farmhouses
- off-grid households
Once households have applied to receive support and their applications have been processed and verified, eligible applicants' details will be shared with local authorities who will deliver the one-off, non-repayable support "this winter".
Applicants will only be able to submit information through the GOV.UK portal when it opens this month and should not contact their local authority directly as they will not be able to offer any more information.
The UK Government also said that the exact date that an eligible household will receive support will depend on when the application is made and when the payment can be processed by the relevant local authority.
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