The Government will do “whatever is necessary” to ensure people get the support on their energy bills they are entitled to, a minister has said after reports that hundreds of thousands could be missing out. Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said there was a “blockage” in getting vouchers to some of the millions of customers with pre-payment meters across Britain.
“The most important thing, as I say, is that the Government is going to be gripping this issue and doing whatever is necessary to make sure that we unblock the blockage that there is in terms of getting those vouchers out,” he said on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. In May, then Chancellor Rishi Sunak promised £400 to each household in Britain from October to help them with soaring energy bills. The support will be paid out in six instalments of either £66 or £67.
Most households will have this taken off their bills automatically, but some households with pre-payment meters will need to redeem vouchers – and recent data showed that thousands have not done so yet. Mr Stride said that a “huge number” of people have been in touch to say they are struggling to get the vouchers.
He added: “Firstly … the Government is very alive to the issue, and will be working with the energy companies, and are as we speak, to resolve those particular issues.” Last week, PayPoint revealed that a little over half (53%) of the 800,000 vouchers it had issued so far have not been redeemed yet.
It could mean that households with pre-payment meters, which are often more vulnerable than those that pay by direct debit, are missing out on around £27 million in support, PayPoint said. Energy bills were capped at 34p per unit of electricity and 10.3p per unit of gas between the start of October and the end of March.
The cap was originally set to last for two years, but when he became Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said it would be reviewed and reduced in six months. Households were still eligible for the £400 payments even after the cap.
