Nottingham City Council has teamed up with the charity Independent Age to offer 400 fuel vouchers to eligible older people. The vouchers are worth £50 off an energy bills, and are for people who live in Nottingham city that are above the state pension age and receive a means tested benefit, such as Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support.
Eligible households are able to receive one voucher per household this month. Independent Age has warned that the need for these vouchers are "urgent", after the cost of energy for the typical household could soar to more than £4,000 next April when the energy price cap rises again.
In the last year, food costs have also been driven up by over 14.5%, which places an additional strain on budgets. Kate Duncan, community services manager at Independent Age in Nottingham, said: “These vouchers will be a lifeline to older people who are anxious about the cost of living.
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"We know that some people in later life in Nottingham now feel unable to turn on the heating due to the high cost, or even because of debts to energy companies. We want these vouchers to go some way to help older people who are facing a challenging winter.
“We urge anyone who thinks they could be eligible or knows someone who may be to contact our Nottingham office and find out more. The vouchers are first come first served and they are sitting here waiting for you."
Older people can apply for one of the vouchers by calling the Independent Age Nottingham office on 0115 811 4300 or emailing nottingham@independentage.org. Distributing these fuel vouchers is part of the charity's mission to support older people in the city.
The fuel vouchers are part of the UK Government’s £1.5bn Household Support Fund, which has been distributed between local councils to help people this winter with the cost of living. Nottingham Council has used part of its allocation to give these fuel vouchers to charities to support local people.
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