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- The Warm Home Discount has been extended to 2030
- The news follows the new Warm Homes Plan announced last week
- Thousands of Scottish households will also benefit from reforms of the Discount
Millions of eligible families will receive the Warm Home Discount of £150 every winter until 2030/2031, the government has confirmed.
The news follows the government’s expansion of the Warm Home Discount last year, which saw 2.7 million families added to the scheme and brought the total number of eligible households to around 6 million.
This is in addition to the £150 the government announced it would remove from household energy bills by scrapping green levies from April as announced in last year’s Autumn Budget.
Ed Miliband, energy secretary, said that hundreds of thousands of Scottish households would also benefit from reforms to the way the Warm Home Discount is administered, with around 345,000 families in Scotland set to receive the £150 rebate automatically next winter – an increase of around 250,000.
Miliband also said that for years, it had always been the responsibility of many Scottish households to apply for the rebate directly from suppliers, but the change will aim to simplify the process for the majority of those eligible for the discount.
As a result, Miliband said this would bring the scheme closer into line with that in England and Wales, where most receive the payment automatically.
“Tackling the affordability crisis is the government’s number one priority. That is why we are confirming to millions of eligible families across the country that they will receive the £150 Warm Home Discount every winter for the rest of the decade,” he said.
“That will give families much-needed peace of mind that they will continue to receive vital support in the cold winter months, as we take action to bring down bills for good.”
A small number of households need to provide extra information to ensure they receive the discount this year (2025/2026), and if you’ve received a letter advising to call the helpline, you need to do so by 27 February 2026.
The update comes after the government launches the £15bn Warm Homes Plan, the biggest home upgrade plan in British history, to help millions of families cut their bills.
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Eligibility criteria for the Warm Home Discount
There are different ways to qualify for the Warm Home Discount, and it depends on where you live.
According to the government, if you live in England and Wales, you can qualify if you either get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit or are on a low income.
Whereas if you live in Scotland, you qualify if you either get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit or are on a low income in Scotland and meet your energy supplier’s criteria for the scheme. However, this could change under the latest announcement that aims to see this process simplified.
Finally, you can still qualify for the discount if you use a pre-pay or pay-as-you-go electricity meter. Reach out to your electricity supplier as they can tell you how you’ll get the discount if you’re eligible. Examples include receiving a voucher you can use to top up your meter.
What is the Warm Homes Plan?
The Warm Homes Plan is a major government initiative designed to help homeowners cut their energy bills through clean energy, such as solar panels, batteries, double glazing, heat pumps, and insulation.
It covers all the major grants for clean energy, including the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and – until 31 March 2026, ECO4.
It is a plan for all types of households, with targeted interventions for those on low incomes, upgrades for social housing, new protections for renters, and a universal offer for all households to upgrade homes if and when they want to.
The plan aims to help lift up to 1 million families out of fuel poverty and tackle long-term energy costs, following the government’s intervention to take an average of £150 of costs off energy bills for all families this April.
The three pillars of the programme are:
Direct support for low-income families
- Low-income households will receive free of charge packages of upgrades, depending on what technologies are most suitable for their homes – backed by £5bn of public investment
- For example, families could receive fully-funded installations of solar panels and a battery, to the full average cost (currently £9,000-£12,000)
- For social housing residents, this could mean upgrades to entire streets at the same time, lowering bills and improving warmth and comfort for whole neighbourhoods
An offer for everyone:
- The government-backed, zero and low interest loans programme to get solar panels onto the nation’s rooftops and new rules that mean every new home will come with solar panels by default
- This plan aims to triple the number of homes with solar panels on their rooftops by 2030
- Making it easier for anyone who wants to get a heat pump, with a £7,500 universal grant for heat pumps, and the first-ever offer for ‘air-to-air heat pumps’ that can also cool homes in the summer
New protections for renters:
- Today, 1.6 million children live in private accommodation suffering from cold, damp, or mould
- The government believes in a simple principle that if you rent a home, private or social, a landlord has a responsibility to ensure that it is safe, warm, and affordable
- By updating protections for renters, and supporting landlords to make these upgrades in a fair way over several years, an estimated half a million families will be lifted out of fuel poverty by the end of the decade
Want to know more about the Warm Homes Plan, check out our guide.
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