Warm Home Discount 2024/2025

AngryCav

My brother in law, who has learning difficulties but lives independently in a council property, has always received the WHD from the government. This year he did not, although we (my wife and I who are his deputies at the Court of Protection) were not informed from the Dept for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ for short!). I queried the decision and they replied that his property no longer qualified as "its energy costs core exceeded the threshold set". In fact, his EPC rating certificate had lapsed (the council's responsibility which I have now asked them to rectify) but the DESNZ further told me that they had used data from the Valuation Office Agency (who they?) to determine he fell outside the threshold. However, they also sent me the official government WHD eligibility statement, which contained the following paragraph: " For Scheme Year 14 (2024/25) we are maintaining the threshold at the same level as Scheme Year 13 to keep the level of core group spending broadly the same". The threshold referred to is "a specific energy cost score". I therefore argued that, albeit they think his energy cost score is NOW too high, they should have paid the WHD this year because they stated they were keeping the threshold the same as LAST year, when he DID receive the benefit. Have I misunderstood these statements? I have sent two further letters to them asking them to specifically answer my challenge, but they just keep sending back a pro-forma letter declining the payment. Also, do I have further grounds for complaint given we were not informed of the decision ?

Spoonie_Turtle

The energy costs score is calculated based on size, age, and type of dwelling (flat/semi-detatched/etc.) so it is puzzling that they think his building has changed in some way so as to become ineligible - got smaller, got younger, or joined with other dwellings?!

The EPC is irrelevant, it was only used as a sourse of information for those characteristics for the informal eligibility checker, or where a piece of information was missing for people who didn't get theirs automatically, which clearly it wasn't for the previous year.

Strange.  I don't know how would be best to proceed, but hopefully having a clear understanding of how eligibility is worked out will help you focus on any query/complaint/other pursuit of trying to rectify this.