Thousands of Portsmouth homes stripped of new £100 energy payment

Thousands of homes are narrowly missing out on the £100 energy payment announced in the latest budget.

At the end of October, Chancellor John Healey, introduced a scheme intended to support eligible households in council tax bands A to D with their energy costs over the winter months.

However, thousands of households will not be able to cash this payment in.

Data from Council Tax Challenger has revealed there are currently 6,170 homes in the city that fall into council tax bands E to H, making them ineligible.

During a factory visit in Derby, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “We’re very focused on giving families as much breathing space as we possibly can.

“Often with a budget, people would have come home from work and said, ‘Well, this doesn’t help me. It’s always for somebody else’.

“Well, if you’re going to give that support to people in council tax bands A to D, that gets to the vast majority of the country.

“It is help, real help that will land in people’s bank accounts in January.”