Energy rebate plea to second homeowners

People urged to donate £400 grant and support needy as energy costs spiral

SECOND homeowners in the Westcountry are being urged to donate their £400 government energy rebate to those facing hardship this winter as gas and electricity prices soar.

Those behind the Donate the Rebate scheme say that if every second homeowner in Cornwall took part and donated their rebate then £5.4million could be re-distributed from wealthy property owners to people who desperately need help in the county, which has high levels of poverty. Energy regulator Ofgem yesterday confirmed an 80.06% rise in the national energy price cap, sending the average household’s yearly bill from £1,971 to £3,549 from October.

The cap will come into effect for around 24 million households in England, Scotland and Wales on default energy tariffs on October 1, and will remain in place until December 31, when it will be adjusted again. However, Ofgem warned that some suppliers could start to increase direct debits before October 1 to spread costs.

The £400 energy bills rebate, administered directly by energy suppliers, will be paid to consumers over six months with payments starting from October. People with more than one home will receive the payment for every property they own – meaning second home owners will receive additional money even if not they are not using the property.

Rob Love, chief executive and cofounder of Newquay-based Crowdfunder, which yesterday launched the #DonatetheRebate campaign, said the scheme was a way of redistributing money from the “haves to the have-nots”. He told The Guardian: “In times like these, we cannot just rely on governments, charities or corporations: we need a more efficient way to redistribute wealth to those who really need it. We’ve got to get ourselves out of this national emergency and everyone has got to

play a part.” The Guardian reports that the number of people asking for food parcels in parts of Cornwall has increased by 75% in the past 12 months, while 1,500 people are in emergency accommodation and more than 21,000 are on housing waiting lists. At the same time property prices continue to increase, inflated by people from other parts of the UK buying second homes or property investments.

The Crowdfunder scheme aims to help facilitate donations from the expected £5.4million in rebates that will go towards the energy bills of 13,500 second homes in Cornwall. This will then be directed towards the charities and organisations helping support Cornish residents in need.

Mr Love said he thought the government’s energy bills support scheme was “quite generous” but added: “It doesn’t get all the money to the right people.”

He told The Guardian that millions of pounds would be going to wealthy people who owned properties in Cornish second home hotspots such as Rock, St Ives and St Mawes. “We’re not against second homeowners. We’re not angry with them and we’re not hassling the government. We are providing a mechanism that gets the money to the right places.”

Second homeowners who want to take part are being asked to go on to the Donate the Rebate website and specify the Cornish charity they would like their rebate to go to. Mr Love said Cornwall was the obvious place to start but he hoped to expand the scheme to other places with lots of second homes.

Julian German, a Cornwall councillor whose patch includes St Mawes, said: “We have an obligation to our neighbours who are struggling, to help them where we can. The poverty some people are facing in Cornwall is astounding.”

Kim Conchie, chief executive of Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, said he believed many people who had visited second homes for years and had made connections in the community would donate – but accepted that hard-nosed investors looking to make a profit out of a Cornish property might be harder to reach.

“Second homeowners have a duty if they are going to benefit from the wonderful place we live and work in to contribute. I think this is a fantastic moment when they can really make a gesture. Every second homeowner should be doing this, to salve their conscience and make a difference,” he said.

Gill Pipkin, CEO of Citizens Advice Cornwall, said: “The number of calls to Citizens Advice Cornwall by people in distress is increasing every month as the cost-of-living crisis bites. ”