YMCA's poorest residents on pay-as-you-go meters ineligible for Government's energy support

The YMCA is calling on the Government to help residents in shared housing whose electric meter costs are 40 per cent of their weekly £61 Universal Credit payment.

Paying for electric through a pay-as-you-go metre is more expensive than paying monthly but as there is a single supply of electric to the property the residents do not qualify for the £400 per household.

YMCA Black Country chief executive, Steve Clay said: "We have 219 residents, vulnerable to homelessness, that are affected by this oversight.

"The energy costs in the associated properties (after taking the Energy Bill Relief Scheme into consideration) has increased to over 300 per cent from October 1. Rising from £2.57/kW-h to £8/kW-h.

"Energy costs for these vulnerable residents now accounts for up to 40 per cent of their £61 per week Universal Credit. It is essential that these resident are not excluded from the additional £400 being offered to all domestic households."

Energy companies do not count these properties within the £400 per household scheme, as they are classed as non-domestic supply.

Instead, charities, social landlords and HMO companies only receive a price cap on their energy use (the recently announced Energy Bill Relief Scheme), limiting the increase, but this is not sufficient to prevent massive rises in costs to vulnerable residents.

From October 1 the energy bills for many housing charities have risen and the YMCA claim the increases "have to be passed on to the residents who use the energy".

Most of these residents are on benefits but are falling through the safety net provided by the Government's All Household Energy Bills Support Scheme.

Over the last year shared housing landlords in the Black Country have been installing electric meters in tenants' rooms and they also will not qualify for the £400 payment.

Mr Clay believes the solution is for the Government to divert resources to housing charities like the YMCA.

He said: "The easiest way to address this would be for Energy Companies (or the Government) to provide the £400 / household support, directly to charities who are providing the accommodation, so that they can pass it on to their residents in a staged manner over the 6-month period. This is currently the mechanism for private landlords who provide rents inclusive of utility costs, through domestic supply contracts."

The YMCA has 406 accommodation units for young people across the Black Country including Dudley, Sandwell, Wolverhampton and Walsall. The YMCA also runs a community gym in West Bromwich.