Help with heating and insulating your home factsheet

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• Help with heating and insulating your home factsheet

Staying warm

If you are not heating your home well enough because you are worried about your next bill, you could be putting yourself at risk of cold-related illnesses like pneumonia.

Advice and grants information

Home Heat Helpline: 0800 33 66 99

Advice on help with heating bills and grants available for people on benefits (means-tested or disability-related), older people, lone parents and families with young children.

Winter Fuel Payment

A Winter Fuel Payment is an annual payment made to households with someone aged 60 or over to help with heating costs

• If you are aged 60-79, your household normally receives £200 with an additional amount of £50. If you are aged 80 or over, your household normally receives £300 with an additional amount of £100. The additional amounts are only for this year: 2009-10
• If you are a man aged 60-64 you will need to make a claim because you are not of pension age yet
• To make a claim, phone the Winter Fuel Payments Helpline on 08459 15 15 15 by 30 March 2010
  

Cold Weather Payment

Extra payments are made when the weather is very cold in your area:

• You can get an additional £8.50 a week when the average temperature has been, or is expected to be, 0°C or below for 7 consecutive days
• You will be paid automatically if you are aged 60 or over and are receiving Pension Credit
  

Warm Front Grant

Warm Front is a government-funded scheme which offers grants to make your home warmer and more energy efficient. It includes a package of insulation and heating improvements, up to the value of £2,700 (or £4,000 for oil fired central heating). You may be eligible for a grant if you own your own home and receive certain benefits (disability related as well as means-tested). It’s best to make contact several months before winter to get the work done in time.

Where can I get more advice?

For further advice on help available for disabled and older people, contact:

• Age Concern First Contact Telephone Helpline: 020 8408 8170
• Kingston Centre for Independent Living: 020 8546 9603

This factsheet is also available as a pdf for ease of printing- see link below.

‘Stay Independent’ factsheets are produced by a partnership of statutory and voluntary sector organisations providing information and advice for disabled and older people in Kingston.