Energy Prices - are they taking the piss???

pavarotti1980 said:
Its a discount against the bill not a £400 bonus in the bank account.

How do you means test as well? I pay energy bill and Mrs pays council tax. I am sure this will be similar for lots of people so trying to means test with multiple different departments/companies is a nightmare and would cost a fortune. SO this will be more efficient if you are looking at it purely from monetary terms
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Depends how you measure efficiency I guess. I think it’s a bloody waste of money giving people who don’t need it £400.

I know I sound stubborn but I simply do not believe that the government doesn’t have the means to estimate household incomes.
 


Frijj said:
Depends how you measure efficiency I guess. I think it’s a bloody waste of money giving people who don’t need it £400.

I know I sound stubborn but I simply do not believe that the government doesn’t have the means to estimate household incomes.
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I suspect they don't in a way to interface with multiple data streams.
 
Frijj said:
Data sharing is awful between public sector bodies but I assumed that between government agencies it would be pretty easy
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HMRC will have the ability but isn't their means testing only done when necessary and not on a blanket basis. Also at what point do you assess income as circumstances will be fluid and changeable. Much easier to give everyone a discount and as above the ones who don't need it will spend it on something else instead
 
150 quid from the council tax rebate just dropped into my account

just plonking straight onto the utilites bill to build up a big credit for october! my heatings been off since the 1st of this month and chances are it wont go back on til after my holidays in september
 
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pavarotti1980 said:
HMRC will have the ability but isn't their means testing only done when necessary and not on a blanket basis. Also at what point do you assess income as circumstances will be fluid and changeable. Much easier to give everyone a discount and as above the ones who don't need it will spend it on something else instead
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Easier I don’t disagree but when there’s a finite pool of money, for some to brag on here about using it for a holiday, when that £400 won’t be enough for others, is frustrating
 
Frijj said:
Easier I don’t disagree but when there’s a finite pool of money, for some to brag on here about using it for a holiday, when that £400 won’t be enough for others, is frustrating
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Completely get where you're coming from with this.

I'm in the fortunate position that I was being overcharged before the price cap was increased. I got a fairly substantial refund last month but left some credit on the account and the DD at what it was because the price is going up so much. For that reason I don't need the £400 right at this moment but by the end of winter it will be greatly appreciated and certainly won't be available for spending on a holiday.
 
Frijj said:
Depends how you measure efficiency I guess. I think it’s a bloody waste of money giving people who don’t need it £400.

I know I sound stubborn but I simply do not believe that the government doesn’t have the means to estimate household incomes.
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It would be expensive and probably impossible to set up and implement at such short notice.

They could have just given an extra £400 to people on benefits, but then those struggling but not entitled to benefits would lose out.
Dave Herbal said:
I’ve just got my new DD which has gone up to £400, so aye that will cover 1 month for me. Cheers Rishi.
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You'll get some extra with your universal credit.
Frijj said:
Easier I don’t disagree but when there’s a finite pool of money, for some to brag on here about using it for a holiday, when that £400 won’t be enough for others, is frustrating
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The lad who was bragging about a holiday will get more than the £400 too iirc.
 
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It would be good if these companies set up a away to pass on this 400 quid payment to people who actually need it.

My bills are already really low, and even with price rises I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford them. Would have no issue of putting this cash back into a pot for people on lower incomes to use.

My annual expected costs are £751. Mad that I'm getting more than half of that paid off by the government. I'm with @Frijj on this, it's baffling how we're in 2022 and still is seemingly the best system we've got for distributing cash to those who need it.
 
Frijj said:
I am certain there is a better way, but the people who don’t need the money and who fancy a few hundred quid on a weekend away or a couple of nights out, are well served by this government it seems

£400 for someone struggling to get by.

£400 for someone on £60k a year.

Inefficient, wasteful spending. Still the avocado eating middle classes are happy with their partygate freebie.
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It’s paid our ferry to escape the jollities of Jubilee. Cheers Rishi. 🍾🥂
 
Frijj said:
Data sharing is awful between public sector bodies but I assumed that between government agencies it would be pretty easy
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Maybe it's good that data sharing is bad as it limits all of your data being accessible in a single breach or nosey civil servant.
James said:
It would be good if these companies set up a away to pass on this 400 quid payment to people who actually need it.

My bills are already really low, and even with price rises I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford them. Would have no issue of putting this cash back into a pot for people on lower incomes to use.

My annual expected costs are £751. Mad that I'm getting more than half of that paid off by the government. I'm with @Frijj on this, it's baffling how we're in 2022 and still is seemingly the best system we've got for distributing cash to those who need it.
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Make a £400 donation to the charity of your choice if you feel so strongly about it
 
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AndrewP said:
It would be expensive and probably impossible to set up and implement at such short notice.

They could have just given an extra £400 to people on benefits, but then those struggling but not entitled to benefits would lose out.

You'll get some extra with your universal credit.

The lad who was bragging about a holiday will get more than the £400 too iirc.
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I must be the only person around here who doesn’t get any benefits
 
Darlo1973 said:
Maybe it's good that data sharing is bad as it limits all of your data being accessible in a single breach or nosey civil servant.


Make a £400 donation to the charity of your choice if you feel so strongly about it
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You are Rishi Sunak and I claim my £5 (which I will donate to charities. Honest guv).

www.lbc.co.uk

Sunak urges rich to give £400 to charity as he defends giving second-home owners payout

Rishi Sunak has pledged to give his £400 energy rebate to charity as he defended his controversial decision to give even the richest households the payout.
www.lbc.co.uk www.lbc.co.uk
 
Darlo1973 said:
Maybe it's good that data sharing is bad as it limits all of your data being accessible in a single breach or nosey civil servant.


Make a £400 donation to the charity of your choice if you feel so strongly about it
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Bad data sharing is never a good thing. It’s what leads to people falling between cracks. It’s what leads to important things being missed. Bad data sharing at worst costs lives, and at best wastes money.
 
Frijj said:
Bad data sharing is never a good thing. It’s what leads to people falling between cracks. It’s what leads to important things being missed. Bad data sharing at worst costs lives, and at best wastes money.
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They tend to employ idiots to crunch the data. They won't pay for the best.
 

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