New warm home discount rule penalises those who own their home

Pegleg16

I have received the Warm Home Discount for last 6 years as I'm on Income related ESA as well as fill PIP and Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. Everyone I know on the same ESA was paid their WHD 6 weeks ago yet I received nothing. Today I rang up chasing it because the money is needed. I was told I was no longer eligible despite having 6 health conditions that require warm heating, and all the time, plus I'm home 20-24 hours a day. When I asked why, I was told the EPC rating on your home doesn't qualify! I live in an early 1960s house with huge windows. Basically what it boils down to is because I own my home I don't qualify for it despite being on exactly the same benefits of those that have received it who are in social housing. The pleasant gentleman I spoke to told me it had nothing to do with whether someone owns or rents. However I pointed out that council properties nd indeed a lot of provate rentals, won't have EPC ratings unless the owner has tried to sell the property since they were introduced. So what they've done, is checked my address to see if I own it, and then looked for the last EPC certificate. This practice is completely discriminatory!! Not to mention being on the same qualifying benefit element. I was told to contact CAB. Has anyone else found theyre in the same boat?? I should also point out that after investigating, my elderly mother on pension credit in a council property got the payment, but my sister's mother in law who's also on pension credit, but owns her own home, was also told she didn't qualify. So how can any of this be fair??????

marcia_

Pegleg16 said:

I have received the Warm Home Discount for last 6 years as I'm on Income related ESA as well as fill PIP and Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. Everyone I know on the same ESA was paid their WHD 6 weeks ago yet I received nothing. Today I rang up chasing it because the money is needed. I was told I was no longer eligible despite having 6 health conditions that require warm heating, and all the time, plus I'm home 20-24 hours a day. When I asked why, I was told the EPC rating on your home doesn't qualify! I live in an early 1960s house with huge windows. Basically what it boils down to is because I own my home I don't qualify for it despite being on exactly the same benefits of those that have received it who are in social housing. The pleasant gentleman I spoke to told me it had nothing to do with whether someone owns or rents. However I pointed out that council properties nd indeed a lot of provate rentals, won't have EPC ratings unless the owner has tried to sell the property since they were introduced. So what they've done, is checked my address to see if I own it, and then looked for the last EPC certificate. This practice is completely discriminatory!! Not to mention being on the same qualifying benefit element. I was told to contact CAB. Has anyone else found theyre in the same boat?? I should also point out that after investigating, my elderly mother on pension credit in a council property got the payment, but my sister's mother in law who's also on pension credit, but owns her own home, was also told she didn't qualify. So how can any of this be fair??????

 Its got absolutely nothing to do with you owning your own home. 

 Its down to the energy efficiency of your home renting or owned. 

pochase

They are not downloading EPC in the first place.

They are just using the following criteria that are saved for all homes, no matter if rented or owned.


You can check here

https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme

ariarnia

id agree it is a little discriminatory tho. people in flats are a lot less likely to get it than people in homes because they dont look at the actual heating cost just the size of the property. so people who can't afford a large old house get penalised. 

Spoonie_Turtle

Pegleg16 said:

I have received the Warm Home Discount for last 6 years as I'm on Income related ESA as well as fill PIP and Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. Everyone I know on the same ESA was paid their WHD 6 weeks ago yet I received nothing. Today I rang up chasing it because the money is needed. I was told I was no longer eligible despite having 6 health conditions that require warm heating, and all the time, plus I'm home 20-24 hours a day. When I asked why, I was told the EPC rating on your home doesn't qualify!

This bit is totally wrong (I'm not surprised, the helpline seems to be useless for most people).

If you know the age and size of your home, you can check roughly where you fell in the government's heating cost calculation. This is the table https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1115362/whd-eligibility-statement-2022-england-wales-annex-1.xlsx

And this is the document with up-to-date eligibility information https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/warm-home-discount-eligibility-statement-england-and-wales/warm-home-discount-eligibility-statement-england-and-wales

Of particular pertinence is this part:

BEIS models the energy costs of domestic properties in England and Wales by applying an algorithm to 3 characteristics of each property.

These 3 property characteristics are:

• type
• age
• floor area

Properties will be ranked according to their modelled energy cost score and then matched to DWP benefits records to determine those that are low income. This list of low-income households will then be ranked by their modelled energy cost score, and a threshold is then set as the cut-off point. The threshold will be a specific energy cost score. Domestic properties with an energy cost score above or equal to the threshold would be eligible, while those below the threshold would not. The value of the energy cost score is not directly equivalent to current energy bills; its primary use is to distinguish relatively between higher and lower energy cost homes.

(Emphasis mine)

Pegleg16

Thanks Spoonie Turtle. The information you supplied was helpful, but to try and do any kind of appeal would be complex.

The problem however still lies with the DWP stating ESA as being a "low income saying it's an eligible benefit with one hand, but with the other hand they're now saying that, despite it being a sick benefit, because your home was built between 1960-1965 and is xxx size you don't now qualify for the WHD payment, despite ESA being my only income as PIP is excluded. Yet at the same time my bills were double for October and November and triple for December.

Low income such as ESA even with the energy support monthly payments and the cold weather payment I got in December as I live in a rural location a d it gets very cold here, won't cover up coming January, February and March bills even with my DDR payments.

If you're sick, at home all the time, you need heating all the time regardless of the energy rating of your home, which some people unfortunately simply don't understand at all. Which is why the new rule is unfair and discriminatory.

That said, it still doesn't excuse the comment of "if you're not in receipt of housing benefit you're not eligible" as soon as I answered the do you get housing benefit question. Certainly people on ESA should be allowed to apply the same way as they always did as sick claimants need the Financial help with heating.

Spoonie_Turtle

Pegleg16 said:

Thanks Spoonie Turtle. The information you supplied was helpful, but to try and do any kind of appeal would be complex.

The problem however still lies with the DWP stating ESA as being a "low income saying it's an eligible benefit with one hand, but with the other hand they're now saying that, despite it being a sick benefit, because your home was built between 1960-1965 and is xxx size you don't now qualify for the WHD payment, despite ESA being my only income as PIP is excluded. Yet at the same time my bills were double for October and November and triple for December.

Low income such as ESA even with the energy support monthly payments and the cold weather payment I got in December as I live in a rural location a d it gets very cold here, won't cover up coming January, February and March bills even with my DDR payments.

If you're sick, at home all the time, you need heating all the time regardless of the energy rating of your home, which some people unfortunately simply don't understand at all. Which is why the new rule is unfair and discriminatory.

That said, it still doesn't excuse the comment of "if you're not in receipt of housing benefit you're not eligible" as soon as I answered the do you get housing benefit question. Certainly people on ESA should be allowed to apply the same way as they always did as sick claimants need the Financial help with heating.

It's not possible to appeal.  The calculation is done, the answer is yes or no, the only way to change it for next year would be to move house or make your house bigger (not worth it for £150!).

I don't know why you were asked about Housing Benefit, you already claim a qualifying benefit so HB is completely irrelevant.

Almost everyone's bills have gone up hugely.  The £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment was a token acknowledgement that disabled people are disproportionately affected by all the costs of living rising.

There is no applying for the WHD in England or Wales because they've changed the system.  ESA is included by being a qualifying benefit for the low income criterion, the other equally important criterion - and the most controversial change - is being to live in a home deemed to intrinsically require higher fuel costs.  If your home doesn't qualify then that's it, regardless of which benefit(s) anyone claims, they can't get it.  They're not specifically persecuting people claiming ESA, but by removing the non means-tested disability benefits there is an argument that they are leaving disabled people to be disproportionately disadvantaged.

I'm not unsympathetic (I'm ill too, cold intolerant and mostly housebound), and I know that the new WHD system leaves a lot of people out who do actually need the payment.  Just the reality is we're stuck with it, unless a future government tries - and succeeds - in making it fairer.
[Incidentally the only reason it hasn't changed in Scotland is because the property data isn't held like it is in England and Wales.  Otherwise they'd have had it changed too.]

wild666

CWP or WHD those who would have received them are being screwed by the government in the case of the CWP they changed it to a 7 day period from daily meaning that an area could be zero or below for 6 days but over zero for the seventh day meaning the person qualifying gets no payment, even if they used their heating on the 6 days it was zero or below. 
The WHD is another area where people who would normally be eligible don't get it as they removed PIP from the criteria and now use the EPC as a factor in who is eligible. 
Those in privately rented accommodation could turn the heating off, even if their landlord states the property should be at least at a set internal temperature 24/7 this could cause mould and damp in the property leading to respiratory conditions.  

Xbigman

The government hasn't screwed anybody because the WHD is industry funded and not paid for by government. And the industry passes the cost on to all energy users via bills. So we are all paying for it, not the government. 
The new system should mean approximately 700,000 extra households getting the discount. It is moving from a benefit based system to a need based system, something I agree with. The way they are assessing need is not perfect but it does seem sensible. Sure some will lose out but overall this is a much fairer system.

My one big issue. They are not distinguishing between heating types. I will be controversial and suggest no one with gas central heating should get the WHD. The price difference between Gas and electric heating is the most discriminatory factor left in modern heating costs and its well past time the government did something about it. 


Darren

Chrysalis

ariarnia said:

id agree it is a little discriminatory tho. people in flats are a lot less likely to get it than people in homes because they dont look at the actual heating cost just the size of the property. so people who can't afford a large old house get penalised. 

Its a pretty horrible system I looked at the gov spreadsheet.

Not only is floorspace penalising flats because they tend to be smaller, but also it seems to assumes flats dont have many external walls as a flat needs more floor space than a semi detached to be deemed high energy use.

The fact it almost completely ignores energy ratings whilst having a energy costs criteria is scandalous in my opinion.  Its just been done very lazily and with little understanding.

The good news is Labour are a good bet to win the next election, and they have already announced what their plans are, a £500 WHD, and no "energy costs" requirement, the requirements look similar to eligibility to get the CoL payments.

Also @Xbigman it may be industry funded, but the industry didnt agree with the implementation, the consultation, the industry largely objected to the plans.  Its still a government scheme.

Spoonie_Turtle

The fact it almost completely ignores energy ratings whilst having a energy costs criteria is scandalous in my opinion.  Its just been done very lazily and with little understanding.

I agree with that.  They've called it 'basing it on need' but they're basing it on hypothetical modelled need, not the reality*.  A very old, small flat or mid-terrace with an EPC rating of F probably needs it more than a moderately old semi-detached with an EPC rating of B.

*Sounds familiar, PIP notional cooking test, anyone?

One good thing about it though is the automatic qualification - nobody misses out simply due to being unaware they could qualify, or by applying too late.  That always struck me as quite unfair for the Broader Group.