East Suffolk Flexible Eligibility Statement of Intent - Identifying eligible households

The council will use the following eligibility criteria to identify households that may benefit from the installation of measures under ‘Flexible Eligibility’. The resident meets one of the following criteria:

1. Is in receipt of any means tested benefit.
2. Falls within the thresholds in Table 1 below which refers to income after housing costs (essentially a household’s disposable income after they have paid for their rent or mortgage).
3. Where the household income consists of only one resident’s income, where more than 50% is from state pension and the resident has less than £10,000 in savings and investments.
4. Where the household income consists of a resident and their partners income where more than 75% of their income is made up from state pension and the residents combined have no more than £20,000 in savings and investments.
5. Needs to spend more than 10% of the household income on energy bills after housing costs have been removed.
6. Lives in a house which lies within a Lower Super Output Area which has been defined as falling within the 20% most deprived areas in England (2).

and in all cases above is living in a property with an EPC rating of D, E, F or G or in a property with a housing archetype likely to be D, E, F or G rated.

7. Criteria for identifying low income and vulnerability to cold (LIVC):

• The resident is in receipt of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Attendance Allowance or
• The resident is on the Energy Companies’ Priority Services register (those at most risk from the effects of a power cut)

or has a health condition that can be exacerbated by living in cold including:

• people with cardiovascular conditions
• people with respiratory conditions (in particular, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and childhood asthma)
• people with mental health conditions
• people with disabilities
• people who are terminally ill
• people with suppressed immune systems (e.g. from cancer treatment or HIV) or is aged 65 and over

or

• has children under the age of 5, or is pregnant.

and

• has less than £10,000 in savings and investments (£20,000 in savings and investments where the resident has a partner)
• is living in a property with an EPC rating of D, E, F, or G or in a property with a housing archetype likely to be D, E, F or G rated.

8. Criteria for self-declaration

Resident is living in a property with an EPC rating of D, E, F or G or in a property with a housing archetype likely to be D, E, F or G rated

and

falls within the thresholds in the table below, which refers to income after housing costs (essentially a household’s disposable income after they have paid for their rent or mortgage).

Income thresholds broadly consistent with those used under the Low Income High Costs Indicator (2014) inflated to represent 2017/18 prices.