Nearly 700,000 low-income households to miss £100 energy payment

• About 3.5 million of the UK’s wealthiest households are set to receive Labour’s £100 Household Energy Payment, totalling £350 million in government funding.
• At the same time, analysis by The Independent and the Resolution Foundation found that nearly 700,000 of the poorest households will miss out on the support.
• More than 20 million households in council tax bands A to D will automatically receive the rebate on their energy bills from January, at a total cost of £2.5 billion.
• Critics argue that linking eligibility to outdated 1991 council tax bands leaves 1.4 million low-income families without help while benefiting wealthy homeowners.
• The government defended the scheme as the fastest way to distribute funds, pointing to wider support, including the £150 Warm Home Discount.

IN FULL

Labour’s ‘absurd’ energy bill scheme to give £350m to the richest households