‘Postcode lottery' blamed as hundreds of thousands of Londoners to miss out on £100 winter payment

Hundreds of thousands of Londoners could miss out on Labour’s £100 winter energy support handout announced in John Healey’s Budget on Wednesday in what has been branded a “postcode lottery”. The measure is expected to cost the Government £2.6 billion and was one of many pledges made by Mr Healey. A think tank is now warning of a postcode lottery with almost one in three London homes - including those belonging to low income families - missing out on the energy bill payment. Hundreds of thousands of homes will miss out on the paymentPA WireNew analysis by Centre for London, the capital’s independent think tank, has found just 69% of properties in London fall within the A-D council tax bracket, meaning hundreds of thousands will miss out on the payment. In comparison, outside of London, more than 82% of homes are eligible for the payment.This is because eligibility is tied to Council Tax bands based on 1991 property values, rather than current household incomes. For example, a property in Band E was categorised as such because it was worth more than £88,000 in 1991. But today, the same property could now belong to a low-income family, a pensioner, or a young renter facing high energy costs and modest incomes. The Centre of London said this is particularly prevalent in London where property prices have risen far faster than incomes over the past three decades, making council tax bands a weak measure of need. Some of London’s highest-poverty areas such as Barking and Dagenham would see more than 90% of properties qualify for the payment. However, areas with similarly high levels of poverty such as Camden, Islington and Tower Hamlets would only see between 55% and 68% of homes eligible. This discrepancy has been branded a “postcode lottery” where “access to support is shaped by historic property valuations” rather than levels of hardship. Read MoreAnalysis showed that the fewest homes in Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, and Richmond-upon-Thames would qualify. John Healey announced the winter handout in his Budget on WednesdayPAThe winter handout has also faced criticism from those who believe it will do little to remedy soaring bills. Campaigners and think-tanks have described it as badly targeted and too small, forcing Andy Burnham to defend the scheme. The Government also announced last year that the proposed Mansion Tax would also be decided by council tax bands. Centre for London has long-been calling on the Government to replace Council Tax with a proportional property tax based on up to date property value. Under the think tank’s proposals, households would pay a flat percentage of their value rather than being grouped into broad bands based on 1991 valuables. Rob Anderson, Research Director at Centre for London, said: “Any extra support for households is welcome as bills start to rise through winter.“However, Council Tax is a deeply flawed way to decide who receives that support. In London, two families can face similar financial pressures and worries about rising bills and yet will be treated differently because of how their homes were valued more than three decades ago.“The fact that boroughs with similarly high levels of child poverty would see very different numbers of families qualify for support should ring alarm bells. If need and eligibility are drifting apart, the system is no longer fit for purpose. We need a fairer, more accurate approach in the form of a progressive, partially devolved proportional property tax.”