Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi 'determined to keep promise' on £400 energy support for Northern Ireland

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nadhim Zahawi has said he's "determined" to ensure people in Northern Ireland receive a £400 energy support payment, similar to those in England, Scotland and Wales.

He made the comments to UTV during his first official trip to Northern Ireland since he was appointed chancellor.

Mr Zahawi said a "pragmatic solution" had been agreed when he met with Economy Minister Gordon Lyons, Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey and the Utility Regulator on Wednesday.

In July, the UK Government revealed details of the payment scheme in which households will get more than £60 off their energy bills each month throughout winter as part of its cost-of-living support measures.

The then Chancellor Rishi Sunak when announcing the measure in the Commons said he would legislate the measure to get it to every household, including those in NI.

However, there has been uncertainty on how Northern Ireland households will receive the payment to help with energy costs.

Power sharing is currently halted at Stormont as the DUP has refused to re-enter the executive or appoint a speaker until its concerns over the Northern Ireland Protocol - a trade deal which was part of the Brexit agreement - have been resolved.

Gordon Lyons told UTV that during his meeting with the chancellor he "made the point that we want this to go to people as quickly as possible and as simply as possible".

"If this were to go through Northern Ireland government departments and to go through arms-length bodies that adds time, it adds cost, but more importantly it will delay getting these payments out to people," added the Economy Minister.

"Essentially what we hope to see happen is that the money goes directly from the Treasury to the energy companies themselves who can then pass that on to households and they can get that rebate of their bill and take that pressure, some of that pressure, that they are going to be facing over this autumn and winter."

Meanwhile Sinn Féin Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey said there was "a bit more work around the legalities" to be done before the payments can be made.

"We have agreed that we are going to reconvene on Monday in order to sign off on a solution and give that certainty that the public rightly need," she explained.

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