Are You Entitled To A Warm Front Grant?
I know it’s still sunny outside but an autumnal chill is definitely in the air. So much so that last night my kids kept saying ‘I’m freezing’, while my husband ferreted around under the stairs trying to remember how to put the central heating on. Luckily he’s forgotten because I’m on a mission to cut our winter energy bill. So while they all moan at me for saying ‘Put a jumper on’ they’ll be grateful when I don’t have to sell one of them to pay for the gas bill come the spring.
And while I am at it when did it become the norm to walk around in a t-shirt all the time? My family seem to think that it’s freezing if they can’t happily wear their summer gear 12 months of the year. As I pointed out to my daughter there are many, many layers of clothes to put on before heating becomes an option. Of course, at some point I will probably succumb possibly due to the fact that either the temperature will really drop or my family’s whinging will get to me.
If you’re worrying about the cold and your bills as much as me, it may help to know that according to The Guardian that millions of pounds of government money help to improve energy efficiency for those who need it currently remain unclaimed.
Yes, you read that right millions of pounds are available through the government’s Warm Front scheme. to help low income households with insulation and cutting bills.Warm Front can provide up to £3,500 (or £6,000 where oil central heating or other alternative technologies are recommended) for improvements to certain households in England that are poorly insulated or which do not have a working central heating system. Grants are available for loft insulation, draught proofing, cavity wall insulation, hot water tank insulation, gas, electric, liquid petroleum gas or oil heating and converting your solid-fuel open fire to a glass-fronted fire.
Though the criteria for Warm Front changed yesterday the grants are still widely available. To qualify an applicant must live in their own home or rent privately and be in receipt of one or more of the following benefits: Pension Credit, Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance with parental responsibility for a child under 16, Child Tax Credit and has an income of £15,860 or less. Working Tax Credit and has an income of £15,860 or less and has parental responsibility for a child under 16.
If you feel you may be in line for a grant (and lots of working people are) apply online for a grant and check out what you need to know about the Warm Front scheme here.