By Cllr Jason Brock
This week, we have yet another Prime Minister.
Setting aside political parties for a moment, I really hope the Government is now able to engage with the serious issues facing our country.
I don’t hold out much hope, I’m afraid.
Squabbling in Westminster – and perhaps especially internal party dysfunction – can seem a world away from our everyday lives.
It would be easy for me to gloat from behind my Labour membership, but the crisis in our Government has real consequences for people in Reading who now face higher mortgages, the threat of rent increases, rising inflation, and public services at breaking point.
In everyday life, rising bills are making it more difficult for many of us to manage – not least the cost of heating the home with the cold winter months coming.
Elsewhere, you may have seen details of our Household Support Scheme that we’ve been promoting to help those on low incomes around Reading through the provision of energy and cost-of-living vouchers as well as financial support to community organisations helping people in neighbourhoods across the town.
We’ll keep working to make this scheme help as many people as we can, but we also know that broader actions with strategic goals are needed.
This is especially true to help people over the longer term and think beyond only offering relief from the acute crisis now.
Many of you may be questioning how energy efficient your home is and whether some changes might help you use less gas and electricity to keep your bills under control.
If so, I would strongly encourage you to apply for our sustainable warmth scheme that we’ve just launched, with £1.7m of grants available.
Through this, eligible residents can get a range of energy-saving improvements fitted that will require them to pay nothing at all, either before or after the work has been done.
To qualify for the free home improvements, properties must have an EPC rating of D, E, F or G – which can be checked here: www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate. If a property doesn’t have an EPC, residents can still apply.
Applicants must also have a total annual household income of below £30,000 (or under £20,000 after rent/mortgage costs) or receive certain means-tested benefits.
Private landlords are also eligible for the scheme, though they will need to contribute one-third towards the cost of the work.
I sincerely hope that landlords will recognise the need to do right by their tenants and treat them with dignity and respect rather than just as an opportunity to make money.
If a home and household is eligible, options available include upgrading insulation and ventilation to reduce bills and improve comfort, solar panels to generate electricity for the home, energy-efficient lighting upgrades to cut costs, and improved heating controls to help save money and reduce unnecessary energy use.
The grant funding is up to £10,000 for a home heated by gas. For homes not heated by gas (and instead by electricity or oil, for example), the grant is on a sliding scale from £10,000 to £25,000 each.
There are no catches, so you have nothing to lose in applying. You can find out more about the scheme, which is being delivered for the Council by our partner City Energy, by going to reading.gov.uk/SustainableWarmth where there is also a link to the City Energy application page.
Alternatively, you can check if you are eligible and apply directly to City Energy at www.berkshire-applications.co.uk, by emailing cityenergy@swfapplications.co.uk, or calling them on: 029 2168 0951.
Should you not be eligible but are on a low income and are over 60, have very young children or have a disability or health concerns, you could still qualify for help from our Winter Watch team with home energy checks, advice on your bills, insulation and draught exclusion and emergency support to keep warm.
If you need help and think you may be eligible for this, you can contact us on 0118 937 3747 or by emailing winterwatch@reading.gov.uk.
Please don’t suffer in silence, help is available. Our Money Matters website – reading.gov.uk/money-matters – brings together all the information and advice we have to help you manage your cost of living increases over the coming months, including a benefit checker and information about managing your health and well-being.
