RDT steps in with cold weather payments

With the winter weather setting in, industry charity The Rainy Day Trust has launched its 2019 Emergency Winter Fuel Campaign.

The government runs a cold weather payment scheme that pays £25 to those on means-tested welfare benefits when the average temperature is below zero for 7 consecutive days.  However, RDT CEO Bryan Clover points out that this misses thousands of families that don’t fall into this category, yet who may benefit from a helping hand in extreme temperatures.  “If the temperature is only one or two degrees above zero, it won’t get paid,” he says.  “The Rainy Day Trust takes a different view and looks at the forecast.”

Merchant employees with income less than £25,000 can apply for an emergency winter fuel payment of £50 which the RDT will pay direct to their utilities provider ensuring that they can turn the heating on over the coming few weeks without having to worry about how they will pay for it.

An application form is available from the RDT at  rainydaytrust@connectassist.co.uk.