Energy grants are part of the package, to help with soaring bills
(Picture: Peter Byrne/PA)Tower Hamlets residents who are eligible for the borough’s emergency energy fund have been urged to claim their payment.
The Mayor announced the fund for vulnerable residents in August, amid the cost of living crisis and rising energy bills.
The emergency Energy Fund supplements the newly implemented £2.7 million cost-of-living package after figures suggested some families could end up paying more than 100 per cent of what their bill was last year.
In accordance with the package, households that qualify for free school meals because of their benefits will receive a £100 per child payment, and other households that are thought to be most at risk of poverty will also be able to receive a £100 per child payment.
Who is eligible for the Tower Hamlets emergency energy fund?
The fund will hand out grants of up to £200 to the most vulnerable residents living in the borough of Tower of Hamlets, with evidence of being unable to pay their fuel bills.
This will be provided on top of the cost-of-living relief package announced last month, which is aiming to give thousands of families one-off grants of £100.
Around £200,000 of the fund has already been earmarked for pensioners.
Lutfur Rahman, the Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said the council “must do what we can to help our residents” at a time “where families will have to make an impossible choice between eating and heating”.
He said: “The incredible hikes in energy prices are going to be unaffordable for many of our residents. A perfect storm is being created where families will have to make an impossible choice between eating and heating.
“People are understandably worried, and the Government is taking too long to reassure them with a suitable support package. As a council, we must do what we can to help our residents, which is why we are introducing an Energy Fund to hand out grants of £100 to those who need it most.”
How to claim the new emergency energy fund
Those eligible for the Tower Hamlets energy fund will be sent a letter from the council, with clear instructions on what to do next.
The letter contains a Post Office Payout barcode, which you can use to collect cash payments from any post office.
Eligible residents must take this letter to the Post Office within three months. They will also need a valid form of ID, such as a passport, driving licence, police warrant card, or an armed forces ID card.
Alternatively, residents can present two of the following: a bank or building society statement, a bank or credit card statement, a government department letter, or a utility bill or statement.
For more details, visit the Government’s Tower Hamlets website.
