£200 boost for former miners or dependants

A CHARITY is offering a £200 grant to former coal miners to help them cope with the rise in fuel costs.

CISWO – the coal mining charity – has launched the scheme to provide some support towards combatting the huge hike in the energy price cap which came into effect last month.

The one-off grant will be available to former coal miners, or their partners or widows, who are identified as being particularly vulnerable due to being on a low income, live in their own home and are responsible for paying for energy costs. It is also only available to those former mineworkers who have ten years’ service in the industry or those whose last place of work was in the industry. Only one grant is available per household.

The price rises will see millions of people having to pay around £700 more each year to heat their homes.

And with former miners often suffering from health issues, poor mobility and managing on low incomes, they may be disproportionately impacted by the changes.

Nicola Didlock, chief executive at CISWO, said: “We want to ensure that those individuals are identified and supported to keep warm and healthy, particularly during the colder months.”

CISWO’s Personal Welfare team will be identifying people in need and supporting them to get the help they are entitled to. As well as the CISWO grant, they will help people to obtain other financial aid and subsidies from the government and provide information about other support on offer from CISWO for former coal miners and their dependants.

For more information about claiming the £200 grant, call 01623 625 767 or: