Nearly 3 million more families would be eligible to receive the £150 Warm Home Discount next winter under new proposals to help people with their energy bills

Good, isn't it growstuff. A bit of positivity goes a long way

That speech sounds very positive!

I've just read the speech. I'm not sure I would have been eligible for the new scheme. It mentions people receiving means-tested benefits. I receive Housing Benefit, but this is excluded from the list of means-tested benefits which give eligibility for the WFP. I suspect it's excluded from the list of eligibility criteria for the Warm Home Discount too. My income after housing costs (remaining rent and council tax) is just over the eligibility for Pension Credit (just over £200 a week). According to many on here, that isn't sufficient for needs, so it's a mystery how I survive. I'd write to my MP, except it's the useless Kemi Badenoch and I know she wouldn't do anything.

I have never been the stereotypical "poor person" because I have conditioned myself to be happy with what I have. I won't ever forget what it's like to live on the breadline and have people look down on me. And I won't forget the people who moan, when they don't know how well off they are.

PoliticsNerd I won't be "vulnerable" next winter. However, I agree absolutely with KS's speech. I don't know the finer details of any new scheme, but it does seem as though the current government has listened to those who have campaigned on behalf of people who have fallen through the net.

Growstuff

The following is from the speech that followed KS today. I'm hoping this holds out some hope for those in your position.

First, we want to provide greater help to the most vulnerable in time for next winter. The warm home discount currently gives around 3 million families a £150 rebate on their energy bills. The current system provides help to those on means-tested benefits, but excludes millions of people in homes not classified as hard to heat, as a result of criteria introduced by the last Government in 2022. These criteria are seen by many as arbitrary and unreliable, and they mean there are families in almost exactly the same circumstances with some receiving help and others not.

hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025-02-25/debates/311EEA55-55E9-433E-9E18-1DAC4633ED78/WarmHomeDiscount

growstuff how exciting to be embarking on a new life in a new area, I wish you well.

I’m sure your life will be much better (provided you can get him to make the house warmer!).

Barleyfields

I wish you happiness in your new life.

It won't be a new life because we've been together for four years, but it will be a new area. It's ironic really because my partner was, until he retired at the end of last year, a higher rate taxpayer. The first thing he did when he received some of his pension lump sum was to open an ISA and put £20k into it. We were waiting for the new tax year to open another one. Anybody who thinks I write with the "politics of envy" is barking up the wrong tree. Up to now, I've been fiercely independent about my own finances and I've been reluctant to accept anything from him. It's going to seem strange not having to worry myself sick about money.

W = Warm Home Discount (don't know what happened to the rest of the words in my original post).

Here are some details of an EPC:

www.reallymoving.com/energy-performance-certificates/guides/how-to-get-an-energy-performance-certificate-epc

It costs £35-£120 + VAT apparently.

If you're an owner occupier, have low income (ie about the same as the eligibility for Pension Credit), low savings and live in a cold house, it might be worth getting a certificate. In any case, the report will tell you what could be done to improve the energy efficiency and could save you money.

Once the house has an EPC, it will be registered and people can check immediately if they're eligible for the W.

SIlverbrooks I think a problem with rolling into one single payment is that the eligibilty criteria aren't the same. For example, somebody could be above the threshold for Pension Credit, but live in an energy-inefficient home and be eligible for Warm Home Discount but not the WFP.

The Martin Lewis programme is on ITV at 8pm tonight.

There are two core groups for WHD.

Core group 1 is those in receipt of the Guarantee Element of Pension Credit who automatically get WHD. So I don't see why WFP couldn't be rolled into that as Politics Nerd suggested it might.

Core group 2 is people on certain other benefits who live in energy inefficient homes. If they don't have a current EPC, a claimant can submit an expired one.

More here:

www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/warm-home-discount/#:~:text=To%20work%20out%20if%20your%20home%20has,to%20heat%2C%20or%20how%20energy%2Defficient%20it%20is.

Check if the property has an EPC here:

find-energy-certificate.service.gov.uk/find-a-certificate/search-by-postcode?lang=en&property_type=domestic

I wish you happiness in your new life.

Doodledog

The standing charge is very unfair IMO. It means that people have no way of not paying an energy bill, even when they switch everything off, or go away.

Isn't it to pay for the network of wires/pipes whatever? They need to be there if you use a little or a lot. The energy companies still have those costs even if you go on holiday.

I'm moving to my partner's home soon. His energy bills are horrendous (compared with mine) and I'm not surprised. I went up in the loft and there's hardly any roof insulation. The radiators could do with replacing - the boiler is about 30 years old and inefficient. The seals on some of the double-glazed units have gone.

I've persuaded him to get it all seen to before next winter - because I don't like living in a cold house. He wouldn't be eligible for WFP because his pension income is too high. However, even if he were eligible, I don't see why he should get away with neglecting the house for so many years and then expect the government to step in with energy support.

Presumably when the work is done, he will be issued with a certificate (if not, we'll pay for one).

Barleyfields

That’s a rental property though growstuff. I don’t know what data they would have for owner-occupied properties which haven’t been sold recently.

I don't know either, but I would imagine that most people eligible for the Warm Home Discount do live in rental properties.

As I wrote, owner occupiers can pay for a survey and certificate. It might be worth it, if you have a low income and think your house is energy-inefficient.

That’s a rental property though growstuff. I don’t know what data they would have for owner-occupied properties which haven’t been sold recently.

My banding is C, which is the proposed minimum for rental properties - it's currently D.

My banding would be higher if I had more roof insulation and/or had a more efficient boiler.

Nevertheless, C is considered energy-efficient, so I'm not eligible for the Warm Home Discount.

Barleyfields

They wouldn’t know which properties were, for instance, well insulated, double glazed etc would they?

Yes, they would because somebody comes round and surveys the property. I've been here when it's done.

Barleyfields

Surely data is only available for properties sold or let in the last few years?

No, all rental properties have to have an energy rating certificate by law. Somebody (not sure who) has a record of all the ratings. Owner occupiers can pay for a certificate.

They wouldn’t know which properties were, for instance, well insulated, double glazed etc would they?

Silverbrooks

I think that's a possibility now. As I understand it, The Government uses data from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to identify eligible households for the Warm Home Discount. The VOA matches property data with Tax Credit and means-tested benefits data.

Currently, only those eligible for various benefits PLUS living in energy-inefficient homes are eligible for the Warm Home Discount. The DWP has details of those eligible via benefits. I'm not absolutely sure who has details of energy-inefficient homes.

What I do know is that I'm not eligible because my home is considered energy efficient. That information was available within seconds at the click of a button. All rental properties are required to have an energy efficiency rating (updated periodically - every five years, I think). I believe owner occupiers can apply for a certificate. I don't know how much it costs, but it might be worth it, if you have a low income and live in an energy-inefficient home. It might also make you eligible for any government grants which are sometimes announced (but don't take my word on that). If you're selling a property and it's energy efficient, it might increase the chances of a sale.

I'm sure Silverbrooks is right and the government has the ability to match data from various sources.

The blurb on the Warm Home Discount site says that even people who aren't eligible for Pension Credit (and, therefore, don't receive WFP) could be eligible. I'm pretty sure that I would be eligible if I lived in a more inefficient house. That's probably why they don't roll the benefits into one.

No. It's the Valuation Office Agency. The council tax valuation list is maintained by the VOA which is an executive agency of HMRC. It has been responsible for banding properties for council tax since the tax was first introduced.

Surely data is only available for properties sold or let in the last few years?