Residents offered council winter support payment

People in Rotherham who are struggling to pay their bills could claim up to £250 from the council this winter.

To qualify, residents must have no more than £150 remaining each month after covering essential expenses like food, rent or mortgage and utility bills, according to Rotherham Council.

The funding was not means-tested, meaning applicants did not need to be on benefits to apply, and residents of any age could seek assistance, a spokesperson said.

Rotherham Council leader Chris Read said: “We don’t want anyone to be worrying about turning off the heating this winter because they can’t afford their bill."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, to apply, residents would need to provide basic financial information, including a recent bank statement, their latest energy bill, and an estimate of their monthly income and expenditures.

Read said the council had committed more than £1m to its Household Support Fund this winter "to make more crisis payments available to more residents than ever before".

“Whatever your age, if you just aren’t able to keep up with your gas or electricity bills this winter, please do get in touch and see if our crisis scheme can help you," he said.

Additional support was available through the government’s pension credit programme for residents aged 66 and over, the council spokesperson added.

Other financial support was also available for working-aged people on low incomes and their families, they said.

That included council tax top-up payments for eligible residents and free school meals for school-aged children during the winter school holidays.

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