What is my household entitled to with Energy Bills with a newborn baby?

FoxLocke

We are both employed earning reasonable salaries however as the mother of the child is now on maternity leave (government stat only), our household income has taken a massive hit. 

We live in a 3 bed semi detached house and our energy bills have been between £250-£300 (most recent is the £300) before credit applied but have now lost the government credit of £67 like most people.

I have done the benefits checker and we according to this we are not eligible for anything (Child benefit only) which is annoying. What seems mad is we are not entitled for additional help, this is despite only having one FTE income, however a lot of households of two adults claiming benefits are getting the full credit and additional help until June. Some of which are probably earning more than my household currently.

Have I missed anything that will give us additional help? Why are newborn parents classed as vulnerable? 

FoxLocke

The last bit should read why are newborn parents not classed as vulnerable?

Swipe

I might be oldschool here, but isn't that what emergency savings are for?

MattMattMattUK

FoxLocke said:

We are both employed earning reasonable salaries however as the mother of the child is now on maternity leave (government stat only), our household income has taken a massive hit. 

I have done the benefits checker and we according to this we are not eligible for anything (Child benefit only) which is annoying. What seems mad is we are not entitled for additional help, this is despite only having one FTE income, however a lot of households of two adults claiming benefits are getting the full credit and additional help until June. Some of which are probably earning more than my household currently.

Have I missed anything that will give us additional help? Why are newborn parents classed as vulnerable? 

If you have run your circumstances through a benefits checker (entitledto?) and that shows only child benefit then it is highly likely to be correct. If your income was below the relevant thresholds then additional help would kick in. Ultimately you chose to have a child with knowledge of the financial impact it would have so surely you planned for the associated drop in income and costs?

FoxLocke said:

We live in a 3 bed semi detached house and our energy bills have been between £250-£300 (most recent is the £300) before credit applied but have now lost the government credit of £67 like most people.

That cost does seem on the high side, it may be worth examining your usage and looking at how you can bring it down, £250-300 pcm is on the high side so it is likely that some savings could be made there, potentially significantly savings as it is unlikely heating will be needed again until next winter. 

FoxLocke

Swipe said:

I might be oldschool here, but isn't that what emergency savings are for?

We do have savings but are using that to buy stuff for the baby e.g. a cot, highchair etc.

Van_Girl

I think perhaps, as having a baby is a choice that you made, it's expected that you planned for it? And if you're not entitled to benefits, then you're considered as having sufficient income as to not be in abject poverty.

I know things often aren't that black and white, but lots of groups are experiencing difficulties with the increased cost of living at the moment, and I don't feel that the government should be expected to support everyone

On the plus side, winter is hopefully over, with warmer weather and lighter days on the horizon, allowing you to reduce energy consumption and save a bit that way. 

If you are struggling with budgeting, might be worth posting an SOA on the debt free wannabe boards for advice on where to save? Lots of very useful advice on here, good luck

MWT

FoxLocke said:

I have done the benefits checker and we according to this we are not eligible for anything (Child benefit only) which is annoying. What seems mad is we are not entitled for additional help...

It sounds like you are already getting the help you are entitled to, statutory maternity pay and child benefit...

Similarly other people are getting the benefits they are entitled to for whatever reason...

You may feel that you would like the benefits you receive to be higher, but that doesn't mean that the benefits others receive for other reasons are 'wrong' or that you should be considered 'vulnerable' just because you have decided to have a child.

It can be a tough time for many parents, but the mothers right to return to her job is also protected and the family income will be able to go back to what it was, if that is her choice.

FoxLocke

MattMattMattUK said:

FoxLocke said:

We are both employed earning reasonable salaries however as the mother of the child is now on maternity leave (government stat only), our household income has taken a massive hit. 

I have done the benefits checker and we according to this we are not eligible for anything (Child benefit only) which is annoying. What seems mad is we are not entitled for additional help, this is despite only having one FTE income, however a lot of households of two adults claiming benefits are getting the full credit and additional help until June. Some of which are probably earning more than my household currently.

Have I missed anything that will give us additional help? Why are newborn parents classed as vulnerable? 

If you have run your circumstances through a benefits checker (entitledto?) and that shows only child benefit then it is highly likely to be correct. If your income was below the relevant thresholds then additional help would kick in. Ultimately you chose to have a child with knowledge of the financial impact it would have so surely you planned for the associated drop in income and costs?

FoxLocke said:

We live in a 3 bed semi detached house and our energy bills have been between £250-£300 (most recent is the £300) before credit applied but have now lost the government credit of £67 like most people.

That cost does seem on the high side, it may be worth examining your usage and looking at how you can bring it down, £250-300 pcm is on the high side so it is likely that some savings could be made there, potentially significantly savings as it is unlikely heating will be needed again until next winter. 

I don't think anyone factored in their energy bill costing 5 fold the amount it used to. That in line with inflation being at an all time high has obviously impacted everyone. 

I was just merely curious to see if I had missed anything that we might have been entitled to.

RE cost of energy bill, we have a smart meter and have been examining usage etc. but I am unsure whether the breakdowns warrant further investigation. An example is that the most recent bill c.£300 had water heating at £72, this felt very high as between the family on average there is one shower per day and 1.5 baths. The 1.5 being the babies bath and then topping up the water.
After googling how much hot water usage should be, the results on average say 25% of your bill so now I am unsure whether that is high.

FoxLocke

Van_Girl said:

I think perhaps, as having a baby is a choice that you made, it's expected that you planned for it? And if you're not entitled to benefits, then you're considered as having sufficient income as to not be in abject poverty.

I know things often aren't that black and white, but lots of groups are experiencing difficulties with the increased cost of living at the moment, and I don't feel that the government should be expected to support everyone

On the plus side, winter is hopefully over, with warmer weather and lighter days on the horizon, allowing you to reduce energy consumption and save a bit that way. 

If you are struggling with budgeting, might be worth posting an SOA on the debt free wannabe boards for advice on where to save? Lots of very useful advice on here, good luck

I am not expecting the government to support everyone, however I will not go down the rabbit hole as it is not why I created the thread lol.

By the sounds of it I am getting what I am entitled to which is fine, I was unsure whether I was missing something. 

born_again

Congrats on the new addition 😍

Are your showers electric?
Cost more than one running through gas boiler.

What is your house set up for heating, water etc.

Previous years we used to have the heating on & off a lot, this/last year it was set on 24/7 controlled by hive stat with 2 temps. One between 07:00 & 21:45 & a lower one 21:45 to 07:00. Saving was a lot this winter.
House is occupied 24/7 & working from home.

MattMattMattUK

FoxLocke said:

MattMattMattUK said:

FoxLocke said:

We are both employed earning reasonable salaries however as the mother of the child is now on maternity leave (government stat only), our household income has taken a massive hit. 

I have done the benefits checker and we according to this we are not eligible for anything (Child benefit only) which is annoying. What seems mad is we are not entitled for additional help, this is despite only having one FTE income, however a lot of households of two adults claiming benefits are getting the full credit and additional help until June. Some of which are probably earning more than my household currently.

Have I missed anything that will give us additional help? Why are newborn parents classed as vulnerable? 

If you have run your circumstances through a benefits checker (entitledto?) and that shows only child benefit then it is highly likely to be correct. If your income was below the relevant thresholds then additional help would kick in. Ultimately you chose to have a child with knowledge of the financial impact it would have so surely you planned for the associated drop in income and costs?

FoxLocke said:

We live in a 3 bed semi detached house and our energy bills have been between £250-£300 (most recent is the £300) before credit applied but have now lost the government credit of £67 like most people.

That cost does seem on the high side, it may be worth examining your usage and looking at how you can bring it down, £250-300 pcm is on the high side so it is likely that some savings could be made there, potentially significantly savings as it is unlikely heating will be needed again until next winter. 

I don't think anyone factored in their energy bill costing 5 fold the amount it used to. That in line with inflation being at an all time high has obviously impacted everyone. 

If you had just had a baby, that means that the minimum warning you would have had was nine months ago, at which point the energy price rise had already occurred several months before? 

FoxLocke said:

RE cost of energy bill, we have a smart meter and have been examining usage etc. but I am unsure whether the breakdowns warrant further investigation. An example is that the most recent bill c.£300 had water heating at £72, this felt very high as between the family on average there is one shower per day and 1.5 baths. The 1.5 being the babies bath and then topping up the water.
After googling how much hot water usage should be, the results on average say 25% of your bill so now I am unsure whether that is high.

Is that the EDF energy hub thing? That is basically made up, entirely a guess and wildly inaccurate, ignore it. Usage varies significantly by season, the usage from Oct-Mar generally represents between 60-80% of annual usage depending on heating and water usage. Generally it is easier to work in kWh rather than £, but for a standard size semi, two adults for most of that and then most recently a newborn usage your usage does seem high. As a rough example my sister lives in a four bed semi, two adults, two young children, their current usage over winter was around £220 pcm, it will fall going into summer.