A one-off £200 payment for eligible households to help with fuel costs. This is in addition to the UK Government Energy Bill rebate and the Winter Fuel Payment normally paid to pensioners.

We are working to identify eligible households and will be writing to those we identify. However, if you do not receive a letter but believe you are eligible, you can still apply. If you believe you are eligible to receive the payment, you can apply from Monday 26 September until 5pm on Tuesday 28 February 2023.

The payment will be available to all eligible households (one payment per household) regardless of whether you have a pre-payment meter, pay by direct debit or receive quarterly bills. The payment can be claimed whether you use on or off-grid fuel.

We aim to make all payments within 30 days of receiving your valid application.

About the Scheme

The Welsh Government Fuel Support Scheme is part of a £90m fuel support package to address immediate pressures on living costs. This scheme targets low-income households as well as households on qualifying benefits and aims to reduce the impact of the rising cost of energy and the cost-of-living crisis.

Am I Eligible?

The rules on eligibility have been set by the Welsh Government and we have no discretion to make payments outside of these rules. A payment can be made to you under the scheme if you meet all the conditions outlined below:

• Condition 1 – Benefit Entitlement Condition

The scheme will be open to households where you or your partner are in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits at any time between 1 September 2022 and 31 January 2023:

You may still be eligible for the payment if you do not receive any of the above qualifying benefits, but you have a ‘qualifying person’ living with you. A qualifying person is someone who occupies your home as their primary residence; and are a dependent child or another adult living with you (or your partner); and they receive one of the following benefits between 1 September 2022 and 31 January 2023:

• Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Constant Attendance Allowance
• War Pension Mobility Supplement

If eligible, the payment will be made to the householder liable for council tax or the fuel costs – not the qualifying person.

• Condition 2 – Fuel Liability Condition

To meet this condition, you (or your partner) must be liable for Council Tax as it is assumed you will also be the person paying the fuel bills for your property. If you are not responsible for paying Council Tax , you can still meet this condition by proving you are responsible for paying the fuel costs for costs your property. Satisfactory forms of evidence can be found below. This is the case regardless of whether fuel is paid for through a pre-payment meter, by direct debit or quarterly bill and whether the fuel is received on or off grid.

You can only claim for fuel costs at a property in Wales and where the property is considered your primary residence.

• Condition 3 – Payment Condition

You are only entitled to one payment from this scheme and you will only meet this condition if you (or your partner) have not already received a payment under the 2022/2023 Welsh Government Fuel Support Scheme. No attempts should be made to apply for more than one payment under this scheme as subsequent applications will be rejected without any notification being given.

I think I am eligible – do I need to apply?

If we think you are eligible and you recently received a £150 Cost of Living Support payment from us into your bank account, you will not need to do anything. We will look to make the payment direct into your bank account using the bank details we already hold. We aim to make these payments by the 3rd October 2022 and will contact you via email or letter when your payment has been processed. The payment will show up on your account as ‘MCCWinterFl’. If you have not received either your payment or confirmation by the 3rd October 2022, please contact us.

If you asked us to pay your Cost of Living payment into a bank account that was not in your name, we will not be able to pay the Winter Fuel payment automatically. You will therefore need to submit an online application.

For other households that we have been able to identify from our records as being eligible for this payment, we will soon be writing to you inviting you to submit an online application through our website: Welsh Government Fuel Support Scheme

If you feel you are eligible and do not receive either a direct payment or a letter from us inviting you to apply by the 7th October 2022, you should complete an online application. This is because there are some households that we may not be able to identify as being eligible – such as those with a qualifying person living with you.

What information do I need to apply?

Depending on your circumstances, you will either need to prove you are receiving one of the eligible benefits listed above; or prove you are the person liable for paying the fuel bills for your property. This evidence can be uploaded and attached to your online application.

How much time do I have to apply?

The scheme will be open to online applications from 9:00am on Monday 26th September 2022 and will remain open until 5pm Tuesday 28th February 2023. If you do need to make an application, it must be made by the closing date as applications received after this date will not be considered.

When can I expect my payment?

Payments made under the Welsh Government Fuel Support Scheme are not a crisis payment or an income replacement. For this reason there is no specific timeframe for making decisions on applications. We will however endeavour to make your payment within 30 days of receiving your valid application as long as we receive all the necessary evidence.

Can I appeal if I am not eligible?

There is no right of appeal against any decision not to award a payment. If you are unsuccessful, it will be because you have not met the required criteria and are therefore not eligible. If your application is refused, you will be advised of the reason for refusal and given the opportunity to re-apply should there be a future change in your circumstances.

Details on further help that you may be entitled to can be found on our website here: Money Matters – Monmouthshire

* Sufficient evidence in these cases may be determined by the Authority, however, examples of acceptable forms of evidence are:

Billing Customer

Digital copy of a recent bill or invoice for off grid fuel

Screenshot/photograph of a recent bill

Screenshot of account name and address from online account / application dashboard

Paper copy of a recent bill

Pre-payment Customer

Email confirmation of a recent prepayment top up

Screenshot of standard meter or smart meter device from property (smart meters should

display top up history)

Screenshot of account name and address from online/app account dashboard (smart

meter customers only)

Pay point receipt/similar of a recent prepayment top up

Off-Grid Customer

A recent invoice for the purchase of off-grid fuel