Chancellor announces taskforce to get energy support payment to Northern Ireland homes

The Chancellor has announced the creation of a taskforce - involving officials from the Executive and the Treasury - to work out how to get support for energy costs to every household in NI.

Nadhim Zahawi announced the measure after meeting with Economy Minister Gordon Lyons and Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey on Monday.

He said the taskforce would meet regularly to ensure "the delivery of equivalent support to the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme in Northern Ireland".

He said the taskforce would look at all ways the support can be provided and delivered as quickly as possible in the most effective way.

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi said: “We need to keep the momentum up to get equivalent energy support to people in Northern Ireland and that’s why today I’ve launched a joint taskforce to present practical delivery options back to Ministers.

"No option is off the table. “We’ve got our noses to the grindstone, we’re making progress, and we have a shared objective with Minsters in Northern Ireland to get this off the ground as soon as possible.”

Earlier this year the then Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the support measure for all households, however, the lack of a fully-functioning government in NI put uncertainty over how it would be distributed.

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