Government help with bills: schemes you might qualify for

Various government schemes help with household costs. Some straightforward, some buried in bureaucracy. Here’s what’s available.

Energy bill support

Warm Home Discount

This is a one-off £150 discount that gets applied straight to your electricity bill each winter.

In England and Wales, you qualify if your supplier is part of the scheme, your name (or your partner’s) is on the bill, and on the qualifying date you or your partner get Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-related ESA or Pension Credit. The old “high cost to heat” property test has gone, which means far more households qualify than a couple of years ago.

Most people get it automatically, through government data matching, and don’t need to apply. If you think you qualify but haven’t heard anything by December, contact your energy supplier. Scotland runs its own version with slightly different rules, where some households still apply directly to their supplier.

Cold Weather Payments

You get £25 for each 7-day period of very cold weather, between 1 November and 31 March.

This applies if you’re on certain benefits, such as Pension Credit, income-related ESA or Universal Credit (with conditions attached). The system’s automatic if you qualify, so you don’t have to apply. Payments trigger when the local average temperature is recorded or forecast at 0°C or below for seven days in a row. Check your benefits payment history to see if you’ve already received these.

Scotland doesn’t have Cold Weather Payments. It has a single annual Winter Heating Payment instead, paid by Social Security Scotland.

Winter Fuel Payment

This is a payment to help with heating for people over State Pension age, worth between £100 and £300 for winter 2026 to 2027. Living alone, it’s £200, or £300 if you were born before 28 September 1946. It’s less if you live with someone else who’s also eligible, because the payment is shared.

For this winter, you qualify if you were born on or before 27 June 1960 and live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Most people get it automatically and receive a letter in October or November.

One catch since 2025: if your own total income is over £35,000, HMRC takes the payment back through your tax code or Self Assessment. Your partner’s income doesn’t count. You can opt out if you’d rather not receive it.

In Scotland, Winter Fuel Payment has been replaced by the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, worth between £105.55 and £316.70, with the same £35,000 income rule.

Free home improvements

ECO4 (Energy Company Obligation)

This scheme gives you free or heavily subsidised insulation and heating upgrades.

You can access it if you’re on qualifying benefits (Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Child Tax Credit, etc.), or if you live in a low-income area with inefficient housing. It works for both private tenants and homeowners (landlords can apply for their properties too). What can you get? Loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation, heating upgrades, boiler replacements.

To apply, contact your energy supplier or find an ECO installer in your area. They’ll assess whether your property qualifies.

Time is running out on this one, though. ECO4 was extended to 31 December 2026, mainly so suppliers can finish their targets and fix poor installations, and there’s no successor supplier scheme after that. The government says future support will come through its Warm Homes Plan instead. If your home is cold and poorly insulated, ask now whether suppliers in your area are still taking referrals.

Great British Insulation Scheme

This scheme has closed. It ended on 31 March 2026 and isn’t taking new installations, so if you see it advertised, the information is out of date.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

You can get grants towards heat pump installation.

This is for property owners in England and Wales installing an air source heat pump (£7,500 grant), a ground source heat pump (£7,500), an air-to-air heat pump (£2,500) or, in some cases, a biomass boiler (£5,000). Until 31 March 2027 there’s an extra £1,500 for air or ground source heat pumps if your home is heated by oil or LPG and isn’t on mains gas. Apply through an MCS-certified installer: they handle the voucher application and the grant comes straight off your installation cost.

Council tax help

Council tax reduction

This can reduce your council tax by up to 100%, depending on your circumstances.

You might qualify if you’re on a low income or receiving certain benefits. The catch is each council runs its own scheme, so criteria vary. Apply through your local council with your income and benefit details.

Single person discount

If you’re the only adult living in your home, you get 25% off council tax. “Adult” is the key word here - students, carers, and some other people don’t count as occupants for this purpose.

Contact your council to apply (most have online forms these days). This discount is theoretically automatic but often isn’t processed unless you ask for it. If you’re living alone and paying full council tax, you’re quite possibly overpaying.

Water bill help

WaterSure

This caps your water bills if you qualify.

You need a water meter installed, you need to be receiving qualifying benefits, and you need either a medical condition that requires extra water or three or more children under 19 in the house. Contact your water company and provide evidence of your benefits and circumstances.

Water company social tariffs

Most water companies offer reduced bills for low-income households, though who qualifies varies depending on which company you’re with. They’ll usually want proof of low household income or benefits. Get in touch with your water company - each one has different schemes with different names, so you’ll need to ask what they offer.

Finding what you’re entitled to

Use a benefits calculator to work out what you might qualify for. Turn2us, Entitledto, and Policy in Practice all work the same way - you answer questions about your circumstances and they show you what you might be entitled to. It takes about 10-15 minutes and could unlock real money.

For help actually applying, Citizens Advice offers free advice and will help with forms, Age UK is particularly good if you’re older, and local council welfare teams can point you towards schemes specific to your area.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: millions of pounds in support goes unclaimed every year because people don’t know these schemes exist, or they think the process is too difficult, or they feel awkward asking for help. If you’re struggling with bills, spending 15 minutes checking eligibility could literally save you hundreds of pounds.

What’s not automatic

Here’s the key thing: apart from the automatic winter payments above, most of these schemes don’t just happen to you. You need to know they exist, check if you qualify, actually apply (sometimes multiple times), and provide evidence. The government doesn’t proactively track down people who are missing out. That’s on you to find and pursue.

Set a reminder to check eligibility once a year. Circumstances change, schemes change, and what you didn’t qualify for last year might be available now.