Latest news with #fuelpoverty
The Independent
10 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
Why millions more households will receive the £150 Warm Home Discount
The Warm Home Discount scheme has been expanded to provide £150 directly off energy bills for around six million people, including 900,000 families with children and 1.8 million households in fuel poverty. To be eligible, the bill payer must either receive the guarantee credit element of pension credit or be on a low income. An additional two million people will now receive the automatic discount, after the previous requirement for low-income households to have 'high energy costs' to qualify for the payment was removed. The £150 discount is applied automatically to eligible customers' energy bills between October and March. This positive development for households comes as energy regulator Ofgem is set to drop its energy price cap by 7 per cent for July to September. Rule change to bring £150 winter energy discount to millions more – here's who's eligible
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Warm home discount to be extended to 2.7 million more households
Energy bill discounts of £150 will be extended to another 2.7 million households to help with fuel costs next winter. This brings the number of households eligible for the warm home discount up to just over 6 million, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has confirmed after a consultation. The changes remove some restrictions on eligibility and mean every bill payer on means-tested benefits will qualify. Some 900,000 families with children and 1.8 million homes in fuel poverty are set to benefit from the payment. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: 'I know families are still struggling with the cost of living, and I know the fear that comes with not being able to afford your next bill. 'Providing security and peace of mind for working people is deeply personal to me as Prime Minister and foundational for the Plan for Change. 'I have no doubt that, like rolling out free school meals, breakfast clubs and childcare support, extending this £150 energy bills support to millions more families will make a real difference.' Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: 'Millions of families will get vital support with the cost of living this coming winter, demonstrating this government's commitment to put money in people's pockets through our Plan for Change. The Conservatives criticised the move, saying energy prices are expected to keep climbing overall. Andrew Bowie, the acting shadow energy secretary, said: 'Labour promised to cut everyone's energy bills by £300 but they have increased by £280 and are forecast to keep going up. 'Energy bills need to come down but this announcement will cut bills for just a quarter of households whilst increasing them for everyone else. 'Kemi Badenoch and I have been clear that net zero by 2050 is impossible without bankrupting Britain and making hard-working families worse off.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Warm home discount to be extended to 2.7 million more households
Energy bill discounts of £150 will be extended to another 2.7 million households to help with fuel costs next winter. This brings the number of households eligible for the warm home discount up to just over 6 million, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has confirmed after a consultation. The changes remove some restrictions on eligibility and mean every bill payer on means-tested benefits will qualify. Some 900,000 families with children and 1.8 million homes in fuel poverty are set to benefit from the payment. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: 'I know families are still struggling with the cost of living, and I know the fear that comes with not being able to afford your next bill. 'Providing security and peace of mind for working people is deeply personal to me as Prime Minister and foundational for the Plan for Change. 'I have no doubt that, like rolling out free school meals, breakfast clubs and childcare support, extending this £150 energy bills support to millions more families will make a real difference.' Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: 'Millions of families will get vital support with the cost of living this coming winter, demonstrating this government's commitment to put money in people's pockets through our Plan for Change. The Conservatives criticised the move, saying energy prices are expected to keep climbing overall. Andrew Bowie, the acting shadow energy secretary, said: 'Labour promised to cut everyone's energy bills by £300 but they have increased by £280 and are forecast to keep going up. 'Energy bills need to come down but this announcement will cut bills for just a quarter of households whilst increasing them for everyone else. 'Kemi Badenoch and I have been clear that net zero by 2050 is impossible without bankrupting Britain and making hard-working families worse off.'
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
Warm home discount to be extended to 2.7 million more households
Energy bill discounts of £150 will be extended to another 2.7 million households to help with fuel costs next winter. This brings the number of households eligible for the warm home discount up to just over 6 million, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has confirmed after a consultation. The changes remove some restrictions on eligibility and mean every bill payer on means-tested benefits will qualify. Some 900,000 families with children and 1.8 million homes in fuel poverty are set to benefit from the payment. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: 'I know families are still struggling with the cost of living, and I know the fear that comes with not being able to afford your next bill. 'Providing security and peace of mind for working people is deeply personal to me as Prime Minister and foundational for the Plan for Change. 'I have no doubt that, like rolling out free school meals, breakfast clubs and childcare support, extending this £150 energy bills support to millions more families will make a real difference.' Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: 'Millions of families will get vital support with the cost of living this coming winter, demonstrating this government's commitment to put money in people's pockets through our Plan for Change. The Conservatives criticised the move, saying energy prices are expected to keep climbing overall. Andrew Bowie, the acting shadow energy secretary, said: 'Labour promised to cut everyone's energy bills by £300 but they have increased by £280 and are forecast to keep going up. 'Energy bills need to come down but this announcement will cut bills for just a quarter of households whilst increasing them for everyone else. ' Kemi Badenoch and I have been clear that net zero by 2050 is impossible without bankrupting Britain and making hard-working families worse off.'
Sky News
a day ago
- Business
- Sky News
Warm Home Discount extended to 2.7 million more households
Energy bill discounts of £150 will be extended to another 2.7 million households to help with fuel costs this winter. It brings the number of households eligible for the Warm Home Discount up to just over 6 million, including 900,000 families with children, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said. The changes mean every bill payer on means-tested benefits will qualify, removing the high-cost-to-heat threshold in the current regulations. It follows a government consultation on expanding the one-off payment to more people struggling with fuel poverty. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "I know families are still struggling with the cost of living, and I know the fear that comes with not being able to afford your next bill. "Providing security and peace of mind for working people is deeply personal to me as prime minister and foundational for the Plan for Change. "I have no doubt that, like rolling out free school meals, breakfast clubs and childcare support, extending this £150 energy bills support to millions more families will make a real difference." The Conservatives criticised the move, saying the announcement will only cut bills for a quarter of households. Andrew Bowie, the acting shadow energy secretary, criticised Labour's green energy drive, claiming that it would increase bills for most people. "Kemi Badenoch and I have been clear that net zero by 2050 is impossible without bankrupting Britain and making hard-working families worse off," he said. 1:30 Typical yearly energy bills are expected to fall by £129 from July, Ofgem has said. However typical bills under the July to September 2025 price cap will still be 42% higher than in winter 2021/22, according to a House of Commons research briefing. The Warm Home Discount scheme was introduced by the coalition government in 2011 to help people on low incomes with their fuel bills. Adam Scorer, the chief executive of National Energy Action, said today's announcement is "hugely positive news" but is "far from sturdy". "The rebate has only increased by a meagre £10 during a period in which energy bills have gone up by £500 a year and there is no clarity on the programme beyond the end of March next year," he said.
