Government support
Energy Price Guarantee
Energy bills were due to rise exponentially, but the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee gives certainty over how much you will pay for energy.
The Energy Price Guarantee reduces the amount you can be charged per unit of gas or electricity, to an annual equivalent of around £2,500 for a typical household. until April 2023, saving a typical household around £900.
In November 2022 at the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor extended the Guarantee until April 2024. This means between April 2023 and April 2024, a typical household bill will be reduced to around £3,000, saving the typical household around £500 on current projections. Millions will also receive new cost of living support from Spring 2023, following up to £1,200 in support for over eight million low-income households in 2022.
This comes on top of the 2022 support package, which included:
- A £650 Cost of Living payment for means-tested benefit claimants, split into two payments, each of which supported over eight million households
- Further £300 and £150 payments, which reached over eight million pensioners and over six million disabled people respectively
- A £150 Council Tax rebate for all households in Council Tax bands A-D
- A £400 energy bill discount for all households, which will continue to run through March
Through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, similar support is also available for households who get their energy through a communal heating system, or heat network. Find out more here.
Cost of Living Payments 2023 - 2024
In January 2023, the Government announced when further Cost of Living Payments will be made between spring 2023 and spring 2024. These payments are:
- up to £900 for people on an eligible low-income benefit.
- £300 for pensioner households
- £150 for people on an eligible disability benefit
You do not need to apply. You’ll be paid automatically.
Exact payment windows will be announced closer to the time, but are spread across a longer period to ensure a consistent support offering throughout the year. They will be broadly as follows:
- £301 – First Cost of Living Payment – during Spring 2023
- £150 – Disability Payment – during Summer 2023
- £300 – Second Cost of Living Payment – during Autumn 2023
- £300 – Pensioner Payment – during Winter 2023/4
- £299 – Third Cost of Living Payment – during Spring 2024.
If you have had a message asking you to apply or contact someone about the payment, this might be a scam.
If you’re eligible, you’ll be paid automatically in the same way you usually get your benefit or tax credits. This includes if you’re found to be eligible for a Cost of Living Payment or a Disability Cost of Living Payment at a later date.
You could get up to 3 different types of payment depending on your circumstances on a particular date or during a particular period:
- a Cost of Living Payment, if you get a qualifying low income benefit or tax credits
- a Disability Cost of Living Payment, if you get a qualifying disability benefit
- a Pensioner Cost of Living Payment, if you’re entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2022 to 2023
These payments are not taxable and will not affect the benefits or tax credits you get.
Park Homes
Government ministers have now provided more detail about how the scheme will operate and when it is likely to be implemented. The £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding will provide support for those residents in park homes that haven’t previously qualified for assistance. Unlike other domestic households, these households cannot be identified by their energy supply, so the scheme cannot be delivered in the same way.
The government has concluded that the best way to deliver the scheme is through Local Authorities, who are best placed to process applications and carry out verification checks. As there is no single register of eligible households, therefore payment is still a complicated matter. The government must ensure that the right money gets to the right people. This includes making the process as simple as possible for applicants. An eligible household will be able to fill out a short form on GOV.UK with a few simple details, including their name and address. Much of this data will be verified up-front to reduce burdens on Local Authorities, who will then verify the address and administer the payment. The scheme will open for applications in January 2023, with a commitment to deliver the payment to households this winter.
