As those who read my blog will have noted, I have been challenging the council to take action to make sure that residents know about the Warm Homes Discount which provides a £135 cut to the energy bills of those on low incomes. The discount was brought in thanks to the Lib Dems in government, but Durham Council has failed up to now to promote it.

I have now been given assurances that in January the council will be making sure that those likely to be eligible who are in council housing will be contacted and I hope that this will also be included in a future issue of County News. The issue will also be raised at meetings with housing associations. Good that they are finally listening to us.

In addition at today’s meeting with senior officers for welfare, housing and Durham City Homes, we have been given assurances that current policies will be looked at to see what more can be done to help people. In particular it makes sense to try and get those people on low incomes living on their own, couples or those with a small family, to move onto a water meter. Astonishingly, we have as a council never done this, meaning that thousands of people living in one bedroom accommodation are not on a water meter despite it being almost certain that they would save upto £200 a year off their bills.

Also, Durham City Homes is to review its policy on contacting people in arrears. At the moment numerous letters can be sent out including notices of eviction before the council even knocks on someone’s door. The policy is all over the place across the county and we are now hopeful that our submissions to officers will mean a more human approach.

I just wish that instead of complaining all the time about the government, Labour councillors would pull up their sleeves and deal with these local issues head on.

The Lib Dems in government have also increased a number of times now the Discretionary Housing Payment fund which the council can use to help those struggling to pay their rent. It would appear that the number of people in arrears because of the unjust bedroom tax is not as high as at first feared and in fact the number of people in arrears has fallen.  Only half of the fund provided to Durham Council to help with housing costs has been spent so far this year, so if you know anyone who is struggling to pay their rent and is on a low income I would strongly recommend they contact the council to see what help is available.

To recap: Ways to save money on a low income we are pushing the council to promote:

– ask about Discretionary Housing Payments to help with rent (private sector or social/council housing)

– call your utility company to see if you are eligible for the warm homes discount.

– check with Northumbrian Water to see if you could save money moving to a water meter.

Finally, I checked online. If you are with one of the big six energy companies (British Gas, Eon, SSE, NPower,ScottishPower, EDF), it is almost certain, unless you fixed your price a while ago, that the smaller companies will be cheaper for your gas and electric – please tell everyone this. www.energyhelpline.com can help you compare.

It’s a sad state of affairs that despite repeated press releases about the Warm Homes Discount the regional press have failed to publicise the lack of action and the benefits available to people. Perhaps now we have managed to get the council to listen, the press will consider telling people about these ways to save money, even if we as Lib Dem councillors aren’t mentioned.