It’s Not Just Families Who Need Help

Today we are giving over Gef to you our readers.

Throughout the day, we will be running a series of articles which reflect the challenges people on our island are already facing ahead of a a rise in fuel bills and others costs heading into the winter months.

We are doing this because tomorrow sees CoMin meet before all Tynwald members gather for a behind closed doors discussion on what to do to help people on our island.

We hope members read these articles, they are after all the experiences of their constituents and our fellow islanders. You can also email your MHKs and all members of Tynwald with your feelings, thoughts and concerns. All their email addresses and some of their phone numbers can be found here.

The following was sent in by a person who has concerns about the cost of heating and the challenges this will cause.

A lot of the support seems to be aimed at families with children. Gas and electricity cost the same whether there are children in the household or not.  Some of the UK energy cost support is via council tax rebates which will cover a much broader range of households which I think is more equitable. I know blindly following UK isn’t always the best but learning from other jurisdiction can help.

I’m thinking, along with many others I guess, of using solid fuel to heat one room this winter. This ultimately won’t help with reducing CO2 emissions. Another good reason to cover a wide range of households.