People in Bath who are on low incomes are being invited to apply for grants of up to £300 to help with rising energy and living costs as part of a new scheme launched by B&NES Council.
Residents on income-related benefits or who have a combined household income from earnings and pensions of less than £500 per week will be able to access one-off grants of £200 per household, increased to £300 where someone within a qualifying household receives certain disability benefits.
To qualify for the payment, residents must have combined household income from earnings and pensions of less than £500 per week, or be in receipt of one of the following benefits:
- Universal Credit
- Income Support
- Pension Credit
- Income-related Employment Support Allowance
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Tax Credits
- Pension Credit
- Housing Benefit
- Council Tax Support
Residents must also have a permanent address in Bath and North East Somerset and have savings and capital of less than £6,000.
The council is using its allocation of the Government’s Household Support Fund to finance the scheme, which means that the number of awards that can be made are limited.
Applications will be assessed in order of receipt.
The funding allocated to the council is not enough to provide grants to full-time students who live in B&NES, unless they receive one of the qualifying income-related benefits.
Residents who think they qualify for the scheme should visit this page and fill in the online form.
Councillor Richard Samuel, Deputy Leader and cabinet member for Resources, said: “These grants will help people who are struggling to pay for basic essentials like food and energy in this spiralling cost-of-living crisis.
“I’d urge anyone who thinks they might be eligible to apply to us straight away. Each application will be considered in the order we have received it and processed as soon as we can.
“We hope this support will ease the burden on those who are most in need and for whom life has become unaffordable.”
Anyone unable to access the online application form can request a paper copy or complete it over the phone by calling the Benefits team on 01225 477277.
