Watersure and Water Meters – Help for vulnerable people & savings for everyone

Have a read of this blog entry if you want to save money on your water bills or know someone on a low income who could do with help. Water meters, and a scheme called Watersure can help different people, and there is a lot of advice out there for everyone on how to cut costs.

Watersure:

Have you heard of Watersure? Have a read below, and if you or someone you know may be eligible, contact Northumbrian Water for a form or download one at: https://www.nwl.co.uk/_assets/documents/Watersure_form_NW_2014_web.pdf

Water Meters:

If you are not currently on a water meter, you may save hundreds of pounds a year by having one fitted. Northumbrian Water can help you decide if you would save. Call them on 0345 733 5566 or try their online calculator: https://www.nwl.co.uk/your-home/your-account/usage-calculator.aspx

Already on a meter? There is plenty of advice here on how to cut your bills.

Are you with Durham City Homes?

If you are with Durham City Homes you can still transfer to a meter, but will need permission. I helped someone in a DCH property move to a water meter and they are now saving around £200 a year!!

Water Sure detail:

The WaterSure scheme is available for certain customers with a water meter. It allows them to have their bills capped. This is to make sure that these customers don’t cut back on how much water they use because they are worried about how they will pay their bill.

To qualify for help under the WaterSure scheme, you or someone living with you, needs be entitled to receive one of the following:

  • Universal Credit
  • housing benefit
  • Income Support
  • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Working Tax Credit
  • Child Tax Credit (except families in receipt of the family element only)
  • Pension Credit
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

In addition, you need to either:

  • be responsible for three or more children under the age of 19 and in full-time education living in the property, or
  • have (or someone living in the property must have) a medical condition which requires significant additional use of water. Examples of medical conditions include weeping skin diseases (such as psoriasis), Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

If you qualify for WaterSure, you will pay no more than the average household bill for your company, even if you use more than the average amount of water.

You will not qualify for WaterSure if you use a garden sprinkler system or have a swimming pool.

If you think you are eligible for WaterSure, use the link above to the form.

Street lights to be changed in The Orchard – But is everywhere in the dark?

New LED street lighting has been causing a lot of concern from residents across the area. The lighting saves a fortune for the council on energy bills and cuts our impact on the environment. However it also makes some areas look like the black hole of Calcutta!

On The Orchard in Pity Me the wrong lighting was installed to two columns and this is being changed after I challenged the darkness.

However across the rest of the area including Woodbine Road, lighting is for many residents simply too dark. We have raised this issue with senior officers but they are adamant that it meets legal requirements.

It may be legal, but for many residents it is insufficient. The council needs to reconsider its policy and look at brighter LEDs – particularly in areas like Woodbine Road where there are a large number of bungalows.

Will MPs have to stay up all night on Wednesday?

Lib Dem MP Andrew George is a step closer to making the Bedroom Tax fair. The Tories want to waste so much time that his proposed legislation is timed out in Parliament. On Wednesday evening  we will make the Tories get their sleeping bags out according to Mr George:

Andrew George said: “The Tories are trying every snide tactic in the book to stop my Bill.

“But we will sit through the night if we have to and show we have more stamina than they have. They can bring their sleeping bags.”

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Reforming this crazy legislation is a necessity as I have said repeatedly for the last two years in Council and on my blog.

If this succeeds then the next hurdle is the other George – Mr Osbourne who doesn’t want to give the money to pay for it.

I wonder how many spare bedrooms his house has?

Fighting for advice services

I am currently fighting to protect council funding for advice services. The Council has asked the CAB to work up proposals which would see it facing £150,000 of cuts to its funding from the Council.

Council reserves rose to over £100million this year – food for thought!!

REMINDER – £140 GOVERNMENT ENERGY BILL DISCOUNT

A quick reminder. If your total household income is less than £16000 a year you may be eligible for a £140 discount off your electricity bill this winter. Call your energy company and ask them if you are eligible for the WARM HOMES DISCOUNT. This was introduced by the Lib Dems in government to help those on a low income with their energy costs.

Severe Weather Warning

The met office has issued a serve weather warning for tonight/tomorrow. You can find more information at:

www.metoffice.gov.uk

If you notice any blocked road or pavement drains in the next day or two please let us know so we can get them reported through the Council system. Alternatively email hal@durham.gov.uk and copy me in to the email

Trinity School Construction Complaints

Residents living near the new Trinity School construction site at Aykley Heads have had to deal with continuous problems with the construction of the new building since the work started last year.

Last week I chaired a meeting with residents and council officers to make sure that concerns were fully heard and to identify areas where issues still needed to be addressed.

Whilst all residents are fully supportive of the need for a new school facility, it is the way in which the developers and planners have acted which has caused great concern.

These concerns have included and in some cases still include working outside of the designated hours, including on a Sunday. Following the meeting I arranged last week an enforcement notice has now been issued to Sir Robert McAlpine the constructors ordering them to desist from Sunday working – residents need at least one day a week without the construction noise and the planning conditions require it.

The council has also been made fully aware of damage to the road surface in Dunholme Close which goes clearly beyond the damage you would expect from everyday wear and tear, and is most likely to have been caused by the repeated use of the cul-de-sac by heavy goods vehicles delivering to the site.

Noise and road cleaning issues have also been an ongoing problem, as well as concerns with the council planning department about the way in which the planning process and subsequent complaints have been handled. A huge advertisement for the developer and signs stating that they are considerate constructors have been seen by some residents as a joke. Planners have now asked that it is replaced with something more reasonable in size.

I am continuing to work with residents to help get all these issues addressed, and it is hoped that many of these issues will be addressed by the Council and by Sir Robert McAlpine in the coming weeks.

Of additional concern is safety when the school opens,  and associated traffic management issues. I intend to hold a further meeting with residents and officers after the school has fully opened to determine if further action needs to take place.

The new school is going to be a fantastic asset for the young people attending it. It must be a safe environment to be dropped off and collected from and must have as limited an impact as possible on the surrounding area.

This is always a balancing act and it is clear that up to now residents have not been treated to a satisfactory standard. This has now been made very clear to both the Council and the developer.

State pension set to rise by 2.5 per cent next year

Pensioners will benefit from a 2.5 per cent increase in their state pension thanks to the Liberal Democrat Triple Lock guarantee.

Figures out today (14 October) show that inflation is below target meaning that the basic state pension will be boosted by 2.5 per cent next year.

The Triple Lock guarantee means that pensions will increase with inflation, earnings or 2.5 per cent – whichever is highest.

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Commenting on the inflation figures, Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander said:

“This below target inflation number is good news for everyone, but will help pensioners in particular as the Liberal Democrat flagship ‘Triple Lock’ policy will kick in to give an above inflation pension increase.

“The Triple Lock delivers a pension rise of whichever is the greater of average earnings, inflation or 2.5%.

“This means that next year the basic state pension will rise by 2.5% or £2.85 a week.  With Liberal Democrats in Government the basic state pension has risen by over £950.

“This shows that pensioners are at the heart of our Liberal Democrat vision of a stronger economy and a fairer society.

“They’ve done their bit for society and paid their dues over a lifetime. Our Triple Lock policy ensures our country does right by them.

“This is in stark contrast to life under the Conservatives who broke the link between pensions and earnings in the Thatcher years, and life under Labour when pensioners were insulted with rises as low as 75p.”