With the cost of living crisis seeing household bills soar and the highest inflation since 1984, I know that many of you are struggling.  I will keep pushing the Government to do more.  This is not the time for Tory tax rises, instead the Chancellor should be helping people get by with an emergency budget and a windfall tax on energy giants.

Please don’t struggle alone.  If you are finding it difficult at the moment, I hope these sources of advice and support will be helpful:

• Visit Haringey Council’s Here to Help for advice and support.
• The Mayor of London has set up a cost-of-living hub with lots of useful support and advice.
• UK energy crisis: will bills go up and should I switch supplier? – this newspaper article explains if and how consumers should switch their energy provider
• Please do visit your local Citizens Advice Bureau for energy advice. The website includes some excellent information about grants and benefits available to help you pay your energy bills
• Money Saving Expert allows your to compare energy deals and this page is updated weekly
• Money Saving Market offers useful energy saving tips
• Ofgem can help with high energy bill
• Turn2Us is a charity that can help with high energy bill
• Please do visit Shelter as they can offer useful information on keeping your home warm
• SHINE is a charity that can help with high energy bill

What should I do to cope with the increasing cost of energy?

1. Make sure you are receiving any benefits you’re entitled to (you can check what you should be getting by using the Turn2Us benefits calculator to check this: https://benefits-calculator.turn2us.org.uk/)
2. Ask a local food bank if they issue fuel vouchers (you can find a local food bank here: https://www.trusselltrust.org/get-help/find-a-foodbank/)
3. Contact your local council to ask for fuel vouchers or a grant from the Household Support Fund
4. Ask your energy supplier for emergency credit and/or a discretionary discount
5. If you have a pre-payment meter and your impairment means your health would be negatively affected by your heat or electricity going off, ask your energy supplier to replace the meter with a conventional type
6. If you use an oxygen concentrator at home, claim the rebate from your supplier (Details about how to claim are here: https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/government-payments-discounts-heating-bills/)
7. If you pay care charges and your disability-related expenses were not taken into account during your means test, ask for a financial reassessment (use this template letter to request this, listing your disability-related expenses – https://97f2d5a9-ec44-4459-bc22-4c8c4ff0fdb2.filesusr.com/ugd/4e74de_25c50ed35dd24765ab2d4bb05e8dd8f7.docx?dn=Requesting-a-review-of-financial-assessment.docx