Warm Home Discount Scheme to expand and pay six million people £150 this winter
A further 240,000 households in Scotland will receive the energy bill boost this winter.
Millions of households will see their energy bills cut by £150 this winter, as the UK Government delivers another major package of support to ease the cost of living for working families through the Plan for Change.
Over 6 million households will benefit this year - an increase of 2.7m households, including 900,000 more families with children and a total of 1.8m households in fuel poverty. Every billpayer on means-tested benefits will now qualify, removing restrictions that previously excluded many who needed help and providing peace of mind to millions more families.
The move will see 240,000 Scottish households receive the discount for the first time this winter.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the major expansion of support for working families is the latest in a raft of cost of living support made possible because the UK Government has stabilised the economy, fixed the foundations and repaired the public finances - deliberate choices which are helping provide security and more money in the pockets of working families through the Plan for Change.
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 energy price cap is also falling in July and today's announcement adds a further £150 in direct support for millions.
This expansion of the Warm Homes Discount means families can plan for winter in the knowledge that they will receive support, giving them certainty and peace of mind before summer.
The UK Government said it has also protected working people's payslips from higher taxes, frozen fuel duty and are increasing the minimum wage to give pay rises of up to £1,400 a year to millions of low-income workers.
Pensioners across the UK with an income below £35,000 will also receive either a Winter Fuel Payment or Pension Age Winter Heating Payment this year, worth between £200 and £305.
The expansion of the Warm Home Discount will be offset by new efficiency savings across the energy system. For example, Ofgem have confirmed a decrease in the operating cost allowance of the price cap for the average billpayer which will take money off bills.
Ofgem's plans to reduce the overall stock of consumer debt, which is currently recouped via a levy on all bills, will also produce savings that help to fund the Warm Homes Discount.
Adam Scorer, Chief Executive, National Energy Action said: "It's hugely positive that across Great Britain, many more low-income households on means-tested benefits will get some direct support to tackle unaffordable bills and record energy debts this winter.
"Vitally, this includes many more low-income working-age households with children, who are living with the daily consequences of not having access to enough energy at home."
The change will mean that all households where the means-tested benefit recipient (or their partner or legal appointee) is named on the energy bill will now be eligible to receive the £150 electricity bill rebate. It's important to be aware the money is paid directly to the energy supplier.
The number of families who will receive the discount for the first time, broken down by region, include:
Scotland: 240,000
Wales: 110,000
North East England: 100,000
North West England: 280,000
Yorkshire and the Humber: 210,000
East Midlands: 160,000
West Midlands: 270,000
East of England: 250,000
London: 570,000
South East England: 350,000
South West England: 220,000
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
DAN HODGES: Keir Starmer's time as Prime Minister is over. This is everything I've heard about his U-turns, confusion and lack of leadership behind-the-scenes. Deep down, even he knows he's done
To be fair, Keir Starmer did better than Liz Truss. Her benighted premiership lasted 49 days. His has effectively ended after 11 months, almost six whole terms in Truss Years. But make no mistake, Starmer's premiership is indeed over. Yes, he'll stumble on, 'in office, but not in power' to borrow Norman Lamont's evergreen description of the steady, irreversible erosion of Prime Ministerial authority.
Powys County Times
3 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Starmer: Labour will not take away ‘safety net' from vulnerable people
Sir Keir Starmer has said 'everyone agrees' the welfare system needs to be fixed but that Labour will not 'take away the safety net' that vulnerable people rely on. In a speech to the Welsh Labour conference that came after a major U-turn on reforms in the face of a backbench rebellion, he said fixing the 'broken' system must be done in a 'Labour way'. 'We cannot take away the safety net that vulnerable people rely on, and we won't, but we also can't let it become a snare for those who can and want to work,' the Prime Minister said. 'Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken: failing people every day, a generation of young people written off for good and the cost spiralling out of control. 'Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way.' He called Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan a 'fierce champion' and 'the best person to lead Wales into the future' to applause and cheers from the audience. Baroness Morgan had publicly criticised the welfare plans and called for Sir Keir to change tack on restrictions on winter fuel payments, which he also eventually reversed. Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC she was 'right to raise concerns' and promised to 'deliver on those as far as we can'. In her speech to the conference, Baroness Morgan said she was pleased the Government listened to her concerns and reversed planned welfare cuts. 'I'm glad the UK Government is a listening government and they heard our concerns and changed their approach to welfare cuts,' she said. 'We were really concerned about the impact these changes could have on some of our poorest and most vulnerable communities, and we made that clear to our colleagues in Westminster. 'And I am really glad they listened because that decision brings huge and welcome relief to thousands of people in Wales who rely on this support to live with dignity.' Farmers gathered outside the conference in Llandudno to protest ahead of Sir Keir's speech, with about 20 tractors parked on the promenade in the north Wales resort town by late morning. Later, some 150 protesters joined a march for Palestine outside the conference, walking solemnly to the venue where they stood for a few minutes to the beat of a drum. A small group of pro-Israel protesters shouted 'free the hostages' and held signs saying 'free Gazans from Hamas'. Sir Keir also said any deal between the Tories, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru at next year's key elections in Wales would amount to a 'backroom stitch-up'. The elections to the Senedd will use a proportional system for the first time, meaning coalitions are likely. The Prime Minister said it would risk a 'return to the chaos and division of the last decade' and risk rolling back the progress his party is starting to make. He told the Llandudno conference it would be 'working families left to pick up the bill'. 'Whether that's with Reform or with Plaid's determination to cut Wales off from the rest of the country, with no plan to put Wales back together,' he said. 'I know that these are the parties that talk a big game, but who is actually delivering?' Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out making deals with Plaid Cymru or Reform at the next Senedd election. Reform UK is eyeing an opportunity to end Labour's 26 years of domination in the Welsh Parliament. Labour performed poorly in this year's local elections in England, which saw Nigel Farage's party win a swathe of council seats. Sir Keir also took aim at Mr Farage, calling him a 'wolf in Wall Street clothing' who has 'no idea what he's talking about'. He said the Reform UK leader 'isn't interested in Wales' and has no viable plan for the blast furnaces at Port Talbot. More than half of voters think Labour has underperformed since Sir Keir became prime minister, polling released on Saturday showed. The Opinium survey showed 54% think Labour has done a worse job than expected, while 18% think the party has exceeded expectations.
North Wales Chronicle
3 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
PM ‘incapable of sticking to a decision' after welfare U-turn
The reforms would only have made 'modest reductions to the ballooning welfare bill', but Sir Keir Starmer was 'too weak to hold the line', the Conservative Party leader is expected to say. In a speech to the Local Government Association Annual Conference in Liverpool on Wednesday, Ms Badenoch will criticise Sir Keir for creating a 'punishing welfare trap that shuts people out of going back to work'. 'This week, the Prime Minister backed down on limited reforms that would have made modest reductions to the ballooning welfare bill,' she will say. 'He was too weak to hold the line. 'The result? A punishing welfare trap that shuts people out of going back to work. 'Right now, Labour are making everything worse. And Keir Starmer sums up exactly what's wrong with politics today. 'Now that his backbenchers smell blood, there's almost certainly another climb down on the two-child benefit cap in the offing. 'Labour told us 'the adults were back in charge', but this is actually amateur hour. The Prime Minister is incapable of sticking to a decision. 'If he can't make relatively small savings to a benefits bill that is set to exceed £100 billion by 2030, how can we expect him to meet his promised 5% defence spending, or ever take the tough decisions necessary to bring down the national debt?' On Saturday, the Prime Minister told the Welsh Labour conference the 'broken' welfare system must be fixed 'in a Labour way'. In a speech to the Welsh Labour conference, he said: 'We cannot take away the safety net that vulnerable people rely on, and we won't, but we also can't let it become a snare for those who can and want to work,' the Prime Minister said. 'Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken: failing people every day, a generation of young people written off for good and the cost spiralling out of control. 'Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way.'
