More households will get winter support to help cover bills
Prime Minister Keir Starmer(Image: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Keir Starmer has set out how six million households will be getting cost of living help later this year.
The £150 Warm Home Discount is being extended this year to reach more households, providing crucial support with energy bills.
It previously went only to low-income pensioners and certain other households with high energy costs.
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But the eligibility has been widened for this winter to help more families.
The Discount is applied directly to bills from October, rather than being made as a direct payment.
But it helps households save money on bills which can then be spent on other things.
The Prime Minister addressed the changes to the Warm Home Discount in the Commons this week.
He said: “The way to bring energy bills down for good is to deliver cheap, clean, home-grown energy.
“In the meantime, we have extended the Warm Home Discount to six million households—one in five families—and that is £150 off their bills next winter.”
The likes of Martin Lewis have welcomed the changes to the scheme, arguing they were long overdue.
It will now be extended to others on benefits such as Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance, regardless of whether their energy costs are deemed to be sufficiently ‘high’.
Martin Lewis said recently: “Currently, those on means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit (which helps both working people and the unemployed) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) only get the £150 if they have ‘high energy costs’.
“That criteria is to be scrapped. Good.
“We’ve long campaigned on how poorly and unfairly this was implemented, let alone that it’s a disincentive to improve your home’s efficiency.”