Letter from Claire Coutinho – September 2022
I hope you have all had a wonderful summer. I know many of you will be worried about rising prices, particularly when the energy price cap increases next month. There is more support with the cost of living coming shortly, with every household receiving a £400 reduction in their bill in October. This will be applied automatically and does not need to be paid back. For households on means-tested benefits, including Pension Credit, a second payment of £324 will be coming in the next couple of months. This follows the July payment of £326. Anyone in receipt of a disability benefit will also receive an additional £150 this month, and every pensioner household receiving the Winter Fuel Payment will receive an additional £300, starting in November. It is highly likely more support will be announced soon, given the scale of price rises we are seeing and I look forward to working with the new prime minister on this crucial issue. If you have any questions about what support you are entitled to, or you think you might have missed out on a payment, please contact me (see below). Facing a drought We’ve also been facing a drought following the driest summer since 1976. In the short term, the water companies need to be doing much more to tackle leaks, given that we lose approximately 3 billion litres of water to leakage every single day. Ofwat also has a stronger role to play in making sure that the water companies are not overleveraging and underinvesting. It also has highlighted the importance of our global work to reduce climate change emissions and conserve our natural environment here in the UK. Greentember This month marks the start of my annual Greentember, where I focus on the environment for the whole of September. As […]
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