Fuel poverty: NI council to create £250K emergency fund

Derry City and Strabane District Council is to create a £258,000 hardship fund to help people struggling to pay their home heating bills.

It will come in the form of a one-off payment of up to £100 which is paid directly to the energy provider.

The fund will be operated by local charities and advice centres. The detail was approved at a council meeting on Thursday.

The proposed timeline for the delivery of the fund is from the end of October.

In order to be eligible for the fund, households must fulfil one of the following eligibility criteria:

• The households must earn a total income of under £40,000

• A member of the household is entitled to free school meals

• The household is in debt with an energy provider

• There is a "vulnerable person" in the household

• A member of the household has recently been become unemployed

• A member of the household is on a zero-hour contract

The move coincides with confirmation from Prime Minister Liz Truss that the £400 energy support discount - applicable throughout the UK - would be available in Northern Ireland in November.

During Thursday's council meeting, elected members also backed a plan for the council to write to all energy companies seeking financial donations to local charities to assist with the cost-of-living crisis.

Referrals for emergency fuel support can be made by a number of organisations.

These include Advice NW, Dove House or Resource Centre, a local school or church or an individual can make a self referral.

Once the emergency support programme goes live, the referral forms will be available online from the council website or by contacting one of the advice providers.

Councillors were advised that it is not a general fuel support programme, but is specifically designed for emergency situations when a household is unable to pay for fuel.

A household can only receive one payment through the fund.