Clarity provided on when to expect £600 energy payment in Northern Ireland

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has produced a document which provides some key dates, but not an exact date when payments will be received.

The document reveals that whichever electricity supplier a household is contracted to on January 2 will be responsible for distributing the £600 payment. Therefore it is feasible that the first payments could be made early in January.

DUP MP Carla Lockhart said it was excellent to have some clarity on the scheme but added that “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”.

The payment will go straight into the bank account of direct debit electricity customers while those who pay quarterly or use a pre-payment meter will receive vouchers in the post, which can be redeemed for cash or paid into a bank account.

According to the BEIS document the vouchers are valid from the date of issue until March 31.

The scheme has an end date of June 30, which suggests that some time has been allowed for more complicated cases.

The £600, which is part of a UK-wide energy payment scheme which has been delayed in Northern Ireland, is intended to support energy bills but can be spent however a person sees fit.

Upper Bann MP Ms Lockhart said the delayed energy payment was the ‘number one’ issue over Christmas: "There remains a lot of ambiguity which is causing many people who are already in financial hardship even more concern.

"It has been the number one issue I have been contacted about over Christmas. It should have been paid in November as per the Government’s initial proposals but the goal posts unfortunately have kept moving.

"There should be no delay, indeed a concerted effort, to get this money to people who need it.”

In the absence of Stormont the payment is being delivered by the Government. It had been suggested by some unionists that the delay in making the energy payment in Northern Ireland was to progress talks to restart the NI Assembly.

Jim Allister had said previously: “Good to see NIO giving up on blackmail of unionism over £600 energy payment and moving to pay it, as they always could have.”