Merthyr Tydfil council has paid £200 winter fuel payments to only around half of less-well-off households that applied – while neighbouring councils have paid nearly all of theirs. The opposition group on Merthyr Tydfil Council has called on the authority to speed up payments of the fuel support scheme in the area. Labour said only 44 per cent of applications for the £200 fuel support scheme payments have been paid, although the independent group said it was slightly higher than this.
Under the Welsh Government’s scheme, eligible households can get £200 from their local council to help with crippling increases in fuel costs and applications opened at the end of September 2022. Labour said that the council is planning to make payments between now and March 2023, despite guidance from the Welsh Government that payments to eligible households should be made in a timely manner.
The opposition Labour group said that the latest figures it had from the council showed that of 7,500 applications received, 3,304 had been paid and Labour has compared this to neighbouring local authorities including RCT and Caerphilly, which have both paid over 95% of applications. Leader of the Welsh Labour group on the council Councillor Darren Roberts said: “With the cost of energy skyrocketing, many of our residents face a worrying winter. The £200 payment from Welsh Government will be a big help in tackling the Conservative government’s cost-of-living crisis, but it is taking too long for Merthyr Tydfil Council to make the payment.
