State pensioners have been urged to spend 99p on an item which could save them money on their energy bills in the wake of losing their £300 Winter Fuel Payments.
Bleeding your radiator can save you £350 a year and costs 99p (Image: Getty)
With energy bills set to rise by 10 percent up to £1,720 a year for a ‘typical household’ from October 1, many across the country are urgently trying to slash their energy bills before price holds take hold.
And with the vast majority of those drawing a state pension facing the loss of £300 Winter Fuel Payments this year – as well as £300 Cost Of Living payments – many retired people will also be looking to cut their bills.
Now state pensioners and any other Brits hoping to cut their energy bills are being told how they can save big – just by spending 99p.
According to energy and insulation experts, National Insulation Supplies, a 99p purchase could be the ‘key’ to saving hundreds.
They said: “Radiator bleeding keys, priced as low as 99p from online stores or hardware shops, can help make homes warmer and save on central heating costs by reducing trapped air, built up over summer months.
“It is estimated up tto 20% of your energy bill can be saved by having a properly efficient radiators – which at this winter’s cap is nearly £350.
“Bleeding your radiator is a simple task that takes as little as 5 minutes per radiator, and only needs to be tackled every six months.
Mitchell Wray, home heating expert at National Insulation Supplies adds: “There are often household maintenance tasks that can be neglected or forgotten, and for lots of Brits bleeding your radiators might be one of them.
Lots of advice often is focused on the central heating and boiler itself, but often money is wasted by not checking your actual radiators, and in some cases, can impact your overall central heating.
“Bleeding your radiator means freeing air that has become trapped in your radiator. This is a problem because the radiator won’t heat up as effectively. Your boiler needs to use more energy to fight the air, costing you more money”
Signs you need to bleed the radiator
- Your radiator is warm at the bottom but cold at the top, or you can feel cold spots in the radiator.
- Your radiator ‘gurges’
- Your home feels colder than usually – despite the heating being on.
- You haven’t done it this year.
How to bleed your radiator:
Tools needed:
- A radiator key – around 99p from shops or online.
- A cloth or bowl to catch water.
Steps:
- Turn off the boiler: Ensure the boiler is turned off to prevent hot water from escaping.
- Open the bleed valve: Locate the bleed valve, usually a small square at the top of the radiator. Use the radiator bleeding key to turn the valve counterclockwise.
- Release air: As air escapes, you’ll hear a short hissing sound. Keep turning the valve until a small trickle of water comes out.
- Close the valve: Once water starts to flow, turn the valve clockwise to close it.
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‘Dread’ as pubs face closures amid £1 billion tax bombshell
A local pub could see an increase of £11,000 (Image: Getty)
The nation’s struggling pubs face a tax bombshell that could put up business rates for a local boozer by as much as £11,000 a year from the spring.
Industry leaders say the hospitality sector faces the quadrupling of annual bills due to the end of business rates relief, which is set to be scrapped unless the government takes action.
The trade body UKHospitality says the total extra cost to pubs, restaurants and hotels would amount to £928 million a year extra, threatening closures, job losses and higher prices.
It said a local pub could see an increase of £11,000, a town centre restaurant an additional £30,000, and a seaside hotel could be left with an increase of £40,000.
The organisation is calling on the Chancellor to introduce a new lower, permanent and universal rate for hospitality’s business rates at the Budget on October 30.
Its chief executive, Kate Nicholls, said: “Hospitality businesses are facing a devastating cliff-edge next April, when many will see their bills quadruple.
“The scale of this almost billion-pound tax bombshell is just not viable. Many will face risk of closure, be forced to let people go to stay afloat, or shelve their investment plans.
“None of those outcomes are good for the people we employ, the communities we serve, or the economic growth the Government wants to deliver.
“There has to be a solution that avoids this cliff edge, and a lower, permanent and universal multiplier for hospitality would deliver that. Not only would it give certainty and stability to businesses, but it would allow the Government to begin delivering on its own manifesto commitment.”
She warned of closures, saying: “The dangers of not acting are stark – whether you’re a pub, coastal hotel or soft play centre for kids and families.
“At the Budget, the Chancellor can choose to act and take the brakes off the sector’s growth by avoiding this cliff-edge. I hope she does just that because inaction could be fatal for many businesses.”
Operators of all types have warned of the detrimental impact an end to relief without another solution would have on their investment plans, business viability, and the communities they serve.
Safari Play Venues is a small family-run business that operates two soft play venues in Milton Keynes and Peterborough. Gordon Forster, its owner, said business rates already accounts for up to 10 percent of their turnover and they would be facing £95,000 in additional rates, if relief ended and there was no solution.
He said: “Business rates support has allowed us to keep trading, keep employing staff and keep paying taxes – all positively supporting the Government finances.
“Not addressing business rates could destroy many hospitality and leisure businesses. We have Covid loans to pay and we put everything on the line to survive, including our house.
“The Government must avoid a business rates cliff edge that will cost jobs, investment and community wellbeing. It’ll also impact on the mental health of business owners who will suddenly have to find tens of thousands of pounds.”
Roxane Marjoram, who co-owns several pubs in and around Suffolk with husband David, said the potential quadrupling of rates bills fills her “with dread”.
The nation’s struggling pubs face a tax bombshell (Image: Getty)
She said: “A quadrupling of rates bills, if the current relief ends, will fill all small operators like us with dread. Even though we’re operating in an environment with significantly higher costs post-Covid, pubs and restaurants like ours can and will play a strong part in economic recovery going forward, if we’re supported with fair rates bills.
“A new lower, permanent and universal business rates multiplier for the whole sector, as proposed by UKHospitality, will help give us much-needed certainty looking forward.”
Tim Hassell, who runs the Thurlestone Hotel in Devon, would have to find £110,000 if relief ended in April.
He said: “In a year when we have seen a drop in demand and extra costs on almost everything, we have seen profits drop to break-even point. A huge rise in our business rates bill would have a massive impact, particularly on our investment plans.
“The current business rates system unfairly penalises property-based businesses like ours. It’s in dire need of reform.”
