Warm Home Discount changes ?

Fred2712

Found this on Institute of Fiscal studies website tonight.

Modest expansion of the Warm Home Discount

The expansion of the Warm Home Discount (WHD) confirms plans the government consulted on last year. 

It will increase the level of the payment from £140 to £150 and, more importantly, increase the number of recipients by 780,000, to about 3 million.

This is relatively modest additional help, taking aggregate support provided through the WHD from £350m to £475m. And it will continue to be funded by the bill-payer, so this expansion will add a further £5 a year to everyone else’s energy bills, on average. It is a far cry from the more radical expansion proposed by the Labour Party, which would provide £3.5bn of taxpayer funding to give discounts of £400 to over 9m households.

Relative to the existing scheme, the government’s reform targets support more closely on those low-income households who are likely to face high energy bills. It is also a welcome improvement to the way the scheme works: eligibility will no longer vary arbitrarily depending on the household’s energy supplier, and eligible households will now get the support automatically, without having to know to apply and without the risk that they miss out because the available funding has run out (as can happen at the moment).

The warm home discount is unnecessarily complicated, however. It would be much simpler to deliver this support through the benefit system.

Stuart Adam, a Senior Research Economist at the IFS, said: “These are sensible reforms to the Warm Home Discount. But they will provide only modest additional support to those that need it, and at the expense of further increasing bills slightly for everyone else. It would be simpler to support those in need through the benefit system.”

Broadwood

Excellent find there Fred. It never ceases to amaze me how well the government and most journalists conveniently hide the fact that the WHD is funded by bill payers just like the Green Levy is.

ProDave

What is the eligibility for the WHD?

PennineAcute

The criteria can differ from company to company, but in the main, it is people who are on means tested benefits who also (or a member of the household) have a disability and get either DLA or PIP.

PennineAcute

AT present, it can also be pot luck if you get it, even if eligible.  Utilita are horrendus and basically put all applicants in a hat and pull of the lucky winners.

Saying that, I applied last year (Jan 2020) with British Gas (as Yorkshire Energy went bust on me) and EON Next (Oct 21) as Symbio went bust, and got it both times.

Nannytone

As mentuined, not everyone that applies, receives it.

With most companies its on a first come basis.
Increasing the number eligable to apply. Doesnt mean that any more people will receive it