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

Exodi

MattMattMattUK said:
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?

Not all children are planned, and even if they are, they would have needed a really powerful crystal ball to predict a war in Europe leading to a surge in energy prices and subsequent rampant inflation, significantly affecting food and housing costs.

If the expectation was that people should only plan to have kids if they had a large buffer in case of a global crisis, it's likely no-one would be able to afford to have kids.

MattMattMattUK said:
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. 

The EPG is based on a 'typical household''s energy bill being £2500. If they are using £250-£300 per month (while it is still cold), based on their house and circumstances, they're not far from the average household.

As you say though, their usage will dramatically fall in the next few months as it gets warmer.

markin

 

Is the boiler set to a low flow temp of around 55c ? TRV's used to turn down unused rooms?

Is the loft insulation a full 270mm deep?

EPC rating.
https://find-energy-certificate.service.gov.uk/find-a-certificate/search-by-postcode?lang=en&property_type=domestic

Scot_39

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. 

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? 

Pregnant woman and children under 5 - are allowed on the priority services register - I would hazard a guess purely for health reasons - to be kept sufficiently warm and clean - so heat and hot water needed 24/7 - not financial vulnerability.

Any outages / faults are in theory treated as more urgent - or alternate heat sources or things like a generator feed can be hooked up instead - limitted numbers - vulnerable get the help first.

And other protections.

The benefit system has some awful catch 22s - for those marginally unable to access benefits - but you have to be close to limits for many to make them better off.  That doesn't seem likely if you are on a "reasonable" salary.

Did you actually try and look at what you would be on - as a family - under UC - you might not think they are on such a great deal - if you had.

As to energy specifically - you too are still getting EPG discounts until end of June.  16.6p electric, 2.xp gas iirc.

A personal sense of being hard done by - is not in itself reason for the govt to hand out others money like confetti.

Despite the willingness of others to encourage that state dependency / others will pay groupthink.

Scot_39

1 10 min shower by 9kW electric uses 1.5kw = 50p

A bath would conservatively use anywhere between 2 to 4 x the hot water - so maybe £1.50 on average.

Plus all the other extra hot water used in between.

So not sure £72 is a silly number.

jbuchanangb

If one partner in a married couple is not earning enough to pay income tax then 10% of their tax allowance can be transferred to their spouse. Only applies to married couples and civil partnerships, co-habitees need not apply.

MattMattMattUK

Exodi said:

MattMattMattUK said:
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?

Not all children are planned, and even if they are, they would have needed a really powerful crystal ball to predict a war in Europe leading to a surge in energy prices and subsequent rampant inflation, significantly affecting food and housing costs.

Nine months ago was July last year, the price rises had already kicked in by that point, the ongoing global impact was known for up to six months before that date, Russia had already invaded Ukraine, it was headline news nearly every day and the media had been in full panic mode about rising prices for 6+ months, it was not an unknown.

Exodi said:

If the expectation was that people should only plan to have kids if they had a large buffer in case of a global crisis, it's likely no-one would be able to afford to have kids.

Most people do have a large buffer ahead of having children, it is the financially responsible thing to do.

Exodi said:

MattMattMattUK said:
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. 

The EPG is based on a 'typical household''s energy bill being £2500. If they are using £250-£300 per month (while it is still cold), based on their house and circumstances, they're not far from the average household.

As you say though, their usage will dramatically fall in the next few months as it gets warmer.

The average household though is not two adults (now with the very recent addition of a newborn), one would expect that for two adults through the most recent winter which has been mild, usage would be below the theoretical "average" used in the Ofgem figure.

Exodi

MattMattMattUK said:

Exodi said:

MattMattMattUK said:
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?

Not all children are planned, and even if they are, they would have needed a really powerful crystal ball to predict a war in Europe leading to a surge in energy prices and subsequent rampant inflation, significantly affecting food and housing costs.

Nine months ago was July last year, the price rises had already kicked in by that point, the ongoing global impact was known for up to six months before that date, Russia had already invaded Ukraine, it was headline news nearly every day and the media had been in full panic mode about rising prices for 6+ months, it was not an unknown.

I think it's convenient to assume the baby has literally just been born (not that the OP explicitly says this), but for all we know the baby could be a few months old, conceived at a time where soaring energy prices or inflation or mortgage costs were not in the minds of anyone yet. It's just as likely the baby is six months old and the OP could have been spurred on to make this thread now because of the removal of the £67 support this month (which they touch on).

MattMattMattUK said:

Exodi said:

If the expectation was that people should only plan to have kids if they had a large buffer in case of a global crisis, it's likely no-one would be able to afford to have kids.

Most people do have a large buffer ahead of having children, it is the financially responsible thing to do.

Of course, but how much do you think is 'financially responsible'? A couple of grand? Ten grand? More?

Energy prices have gone up a couple of hundred pound a month, food shopping has gone up a couple of hundred pound a month, mortgages have gone up at least a couple of hundred extra pound a month, fuel, childcare, all other goods, etc. A couple grand savings wouldn't even last you to the summer at the moment. People are struggling.

If the advice is 'don't have kids unless you can save five figures on the remote chance of a global crisis', then virtually no-one would be in a position to have kids.

For the record, my wife and I are very good earners with good savings, we are fortunate that we will not need help when we start trying for kids next year (we'll both be in our 30's... I'm not sure if she'll be a geriatric on the playground, I believe when I was at school, most of the parents were in their early 20s!

MattMattMattUK said:

Exodi said:

MattMattMattUK said:
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. 

The EPG is based on a 'typical household''s energy bill being £2500. If they are using £250-£300 per month (while it is still cold), based on their house and circumstances, they're not far from the average household.

As you say though, their usage will dramatically fall in the next few months as it gets warmer.

The average household though is not two adults (now with the very recent addition of a newborn), one would expect that for two adults through the most recent winter which has been mild, usage would be below the theoretical "average" used in the Ofgem figure.

To be honest, I don't know how the typical households energy usage is apportioned across the year. Obviously a significant amount of the cost is bore in the winter.

I think we can agree that while their usage isn't 'out of this world', it is probably a bit above average.

jennifernil

FoxLocke said:

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.

Regarding baby stuff, which can often be quite expensive, do you have a local Freecycle group?    Baby stuff comes up on it quite frequently, my daughter got 2 cot beds free that way, one a solid oak one that was in excellent condition.

High chair.....the basic Ikea one is very good, and can be put in the dishwasher for a deep clean if necessary.

Spoonie_Turtle

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, 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? 

Probably not.

For some context, here's how UC would break down for a couple if they're not renting and neither are disabled:
Standard allowance £525.72

Which means they could earn up to 525.72÷0.55=£955.85 before they no longer qualify.  And at the point just before they no longer qualify, they would be entitled to literally 1p …

Or a couple with a newborn:
£525.72
Child element £244.58
So they could earn up to (525.72+244.58)÷0.55 + 573 = £1973.54

If people rent then they can earn 55% of their piffling rent allowance extra (seriously, it's impossible to private rent on the amount you can get) which would probably all go towards making up the shortfall on the rent.

The people who get the most benefit amounts are disabled people, and parents who care for their disabled children.  Far less likely to be able to work and earn a lot than other people without those circumstances - I hardly think anyone should want to trade places just for the extra financial support. 
[I can tell you being disabled is 100% not worth that!  Despite getting the highest rates my benefits currently are only at about the level of a part-time job at minimum wage, and I'd MUCH rather be able to work to earn the money, and be able to live more of a life.]

macman

No one is getting the EBSS discount after the last March payment, but prices are capped under the EPG until end June, so you still benefit from this subsidy, like everyone else. Your usage will drop dramatically in the next month as the ambient air temp increases.
Energy prices have not risen 'fivefold'. they've risen around 250% in unit costs under the EPG protection. If yours have increased 500% then you are using about twice as much energy as before.
Having a new baby in the house doesn't necessarily increase your heating bills, as they don't need to be in centrally heated rooms 24/7. 
As you say, your issue is a drop in income, rather than an increase in costs.