Households issued £147 DWP payments even though they're not on benefits
Households are able to access cost of living financial support worth £147.
The money has been available to households in the West Midlands.
Solihull Council has made available payments of £147 which can be added to a household's energy metre.
READ MORE: All the cost of living payments worth between £65 and £500 arriving in February
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The money has been available thanks to funding from the Household Support Fund, via the government's Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Normally, households must claim benefits or be of state pension age to receive cash from the DWP.
However this scheme from Solihull Council allows households to receive financial support even if they're not claiming benefits.
There are five pieces of criteria that households must meet to be able to apply for the energy vouchers.
Their homes must be heated via biomass, which typically means burning wood pellets, chips, or logs to heat a home.
Applicants must also be a tenant of Solihull Community Housing, have a combined gross household income of no more than £31,000 per year, have no household savings and have someone in the households with a vulnerability.
Pensioners can have up to £10,000 in savings to apply.
Solihull says that having a vulnerability can be considered among a number of thing.
That includes having a long term diagnosed and treated health condition, either physical or mental.
Households can have unmanageable debt or have a referral from a foodbank, school, charity or voluntary organisation.
Or it could mean claiming a number of benefits, see the list here.
The money is available via Act on Energy.
Act on Energy said: "Subject to funding and eligibility criteria, this fund could offer qualifying residents: Financial support in the form of a one off top up of £147 directly onto your Energy Billings meter."
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