£150 energy bills support payment: Success for lowest income pensioners

Commenting on the announcement from Finance Secretary Kate Forbes MSP that the £150 energy bill support payment will include people in receipt of council tax reduction, irrespective of which council tax band they live in, Age Scotland’s chief executive Brian Sloan said:

“We are grateful to Kate Forbes and the Scottish Government for listening to our calls and ensuring that tens of thousands of pensioners on the lowest incomes, who might otherwise have missed out, are now included and supported with this measure.”

“There is no doubt that the rising cost of living is going to continue to bite for many more months to come and energy bills will be the greatest contributor to this. The scale and pace that these bills are rising is causing older people, especially those on low and fixed incomes, great concern and anxiety. Our conversations with them highlight that many just do not know how they will cope when their bills increase by 50%.

“Today’s announcement from the Scottish Government that people who receive Council Tax Reduction will receive the £150 payment irrespective of which band their home is in is very welcome indeed. We asked them to do this on the basis that council tax bands are not an accurate metric of a person’s financial situation or ability to pay. And while it may capture many people on the lowest income it will still miss large numbers who are most in need.”