Cost of Living / Energy crisis support available

Yapton Parish Council

Cost of Living / Fuel issues

The following is a note of information received from the local authorities and other providers operating in the Yapton area, where assistance may be forthcoming regarding current Cost of Living / Fuel issues.

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Warm Spaces

The concept of warm spaces being available to local residents who are struggling to meet the cost of heating their homes is being investigated by Yapton Parish Council. This is in conjunction with St Mary’s Church and the Yapton Free Church in Yapton.

Foe more information please Contact Councillor Mark Andrews on 07493880232 or by e-mail on Mark.Andrews@yaptonpc.gov.uk

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New support available from Southern Water for struggling customers

With effect from 1^st October 2022, the minimum annual discount for the Essentials tariff has been increased from 20% to 45% per annum.

What this means:

• Any customers applying after October 1^st who qualify (i.e. the total household income is less than £21,000 p/a) should be put on a 45% discount
• Any customers renewing after October 1^st should have their discount amended to 45% (unless they are already on a higher discount)
• Any customer contacting us after October 1st, who is already on Essentials, should have their discount increased to 45%
• This also includes all Pension Credit claimants

This will be in place until 31^st March 2023 when it will be reviewed again.

And also just to send a reminder about the further support we have available:

Detail of the scheme:

There are two different types of support available –

• Debt write-off of up to £2000 for customers who have managed to get back on track with payments but will never be able to repay their debt.

• Grant of up to £1000 to make improvements to a customer’s home (this might be the purchase of white goods that a customer cannot afford to replace, repairs to heating or water systems that they cannot afford, etc.)

Eligibility criteria:

Debt write-off

• Customer is making regular payments that cover (or nearly cover) current usage.
• Customer has a significant debt (over £500) that has accrued due to circumstances outside of their control (such as financial abuse by a partner, mental health breakdown, prolonged absence from work).
• Customer is unlikely to be able to ever clear the debt.

Grant

• Customer faces significant financial hardship with no support network.
• Although paying their water bill, customer cannot afford basics (such as proper food, clothes or heating).
• Customer already benefits from a reduced bill.
• There is something that can be done to provide long term benefit (such as a replacement washing machine or a plumber to fix a leaky toilet) or assistance in a crisis (such as food vouchers).

Application process

Please contact myself direct on 07392 317816 or complete the attached application and email me at steven.laker@southernwater.co.uk; Alternatively you can contact the Southern Water Affordability Team on 0800 027 0800 or by email at cs_affordabilityteam@southernwater.co.uk .

Decision process

Decisions will be made monthly by a Southern Water panel of senior management, with customer being informed shortly afterwards.

Do not hesitate to contact me direct should you need any further advice.

And please pass my contact information across to any other organisations that you feel would benefit.

Kind regards

New Citizens Advice Helplines for cost of living pressures e.g. energy line, hardship line and debt line

Our staff and volunteers are still working flat out on the front line to help people, but we know there are a lot of people out there who find it difficult to get through to us.  We have produced a list of helplines to show how people can contact us once they have pinpointed the help they need. 

• Local Adviceline: 0808 278 7969 (Monday-Friday, 10am-4:30pm, free phone) for general advice 

• Energy Line: 01243 974063 (Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm, local call rates apply) for anything energy related 

• Help to Claim Universal Credit: 0800 144 8 444 (Monday-Friday, 8am-6pm) for those starting to claim or thinking of claiming Universal Credit 

• Debt Line: 0800 240 4420 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm) for help with debts 

• Help Through Hardship helpline: 0808 208 2138 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm) for those in need of a food voucher and a benefit check  

• Consumer service: 0808 223 1133 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm) for consumer problems like broken or faulty goods or service. 

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Arun District Council Warm Spaces Grant - now open!

Please see below for info on the new Arun District Council Warm Spaces grant.

As part of our cost of living local response, I am pleased to update you that the Warm Spaces grant fund, recently agreed by the Arun Housing & Wellbeing committee is now live at Arun Warm Spaces Small Grants Fund | Arun District Council 

Not-for-profit groups can apply for £1000 per existing Warm Space or a maximum of £2000 for a new Warm Space, or a space that will reach a high number of residents.

This grant is available on a rolling basis, and once it’s gone, it’s gone, so please get your applications in as soon as you can, and please help spread the word where you feel appropriate.

Georgina Bouette

Wellbeing & Communities Manager, Directorate of Environment and Communities

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Small grants fund for food projects in Arun - first round closes 16th December

Not-for-profit groups in Arun can now apply for funding to increase the amount of free food available for people struggling this winter. This funding has been made available by Arun District Council and is being administered by the Arun and Chichester Food Partnership.

 Organisations can apply for up to £2000 before the deadline of 16th December 2022 and a further round will be open in February 2023, with a total of £20,000 available. 

 The grant must be spent on increasing access to free food – including but not limited to: 

• Purchasing additional food to meet demand 
• Extending opening hours to reach more clients 
• Creating or expanding a delivery service to reach more clients 
• Creating a satellite collection point in an underserved neighbourhood or reaching underrepresented or isolated groups in the community 
• Increasing provision of culturally specific foods 

For full details, go to https://arunchichestercab.org.uk/news/new-grant-scheme-to-help-alleviate-hunger-in-arun-this-winter/ 

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Advice and practical support with the cost of living.

From West Sussex County Council

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