Government Grants

With energy prices rising over 50% this year alone, many people in the UK will struggle to keep their homes adequately warm this winter. The global market for oil has seen price rises which have, for the first time in many years, had a serious effect on many householders.

The government has put in place several schemes to help low income families and older people to keep their homes warm and with the help of many energy suppliers there are a good selection of grants available. The grants include: Warm Front, Cold Weather Payment, Winter Fuel Payment, Low Carbon Buildings Programme, Household Benefits Package and Boiler Scrappage Scheme. The details of all the grants are explained below.

 

Warm Front

If you need help paying for heating and insulation improvements in your privately owned or rented home, you, your partner or civil partner may be able to get money from the government’s Warm Front grants scheme if, for example, you’re receiving income or disability-related benefits. This is only available in England; other countries in the UK run similar schemes which are listed below.

 

Who is eligible?

 1.You get one or more of the following benefits:

• Working Tax Credit (with an income of less than £15,460 and which must include a disability element)
• Child Tax Credit (with an income of less than £15,460)
• Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• Income Support (that must include a disability premium)
• Housing Benefit (that must include a disability premium)
• Council Tax Benefit (that must include a disability premium)
• War Disablement Pension (that must include a mobility supplement or a Constant Attendance Allowance)
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (that must include Constant Attendance Allowance)

 2. You have a child under 16 or are pregnant and have a maternity certificate MAT B1 and get any of the following:

• Income Support
• Council Tax benefit
• Housing Benefit
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Pension Credit (Savings or Guarantee elements)

3. You’re aged 60 or over and get any of the following:

• Pension Credit (Savings or Guarantee elements)
• Council Tax Benefit
• Housing Benefit
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

 4. You’re not getting any benefits

 

 How much do you get?

 3,500 or up to £6,000 if your home needs oil central heating.

 

How it works

A Warm Front appointed engineer will complete a technical survey of the work needed for the existing heating system in your property. If for example your property needs a replacement boiler, work will be carried out within six to eight months of the technical survey. You won’t have to pay anything so long as the work doesn’t cost more than the grant. In some cases you might have to pay towards the work but wherever possible, the scheme will try to cover these costs.

 

What you can use it for

 The Warm Front grant provides insulation and heating improvements depending on your needs and the property you live in. The package includes:

Insulation

• Loft insulation
• Draught proofing
• Cavity wall insulation
• Hot water tank insulation 

Heating systems

• Gas room heaters with thermostat controls
• Gas, electric or oil central heating
• Converting a solid fuel open fire to a modern glass fronted fire
• Timer controls for electric space and water heaters

Other measures

• Energy advice
• Two low energy light bulbs

 In addition Warm Front will trial small-scale pilots for low-carbon heat and power technologies, such as solar thermal heating and air source heat pumps, which will be installed in a small number of properties.

 

How to apply

You can find out if you qualify for a Warm Front grant over the phone. You’ll need to complete an application form before a Home Energy Adviser visits you to assess and recommend work for your property. You can call Eaga Partnership, the Warm Front Scheme Manager on freephone 0800 316 2805, textphone 0800 072 0156 (from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm Monday to Friday).

Warm Front Grants are available in England only.

Schemes similar to Warm Front are available in other countries in the UK. They are listed below:

England – Warm Front grant

Northern Ireland –Warm Homes grant

Scotland – The Energy Assistance Package

Wales – Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

Please note that grants levels vary.

 

Cold Weather Payment

If you’re on a low income, a Cold Weather Payment may be available to help you for each week of very cold weather in your area.

 

Who is eligible?

You may be eligible for a Cold Weather Payment for each week of very cold weather in your area if you get Pension Credit or income-related Employment and Support Allowance with a support or work related activity component in the main phase.

You may also be eligible for a Cold Weather Payment for each qualifying week if you are getting Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance in the assessment phase and have one of the following:

• A pensioner premium, higher pensioner premium or enhanced pensioner premium 
• A disability premium, enhanced disability premium or severe disability premium 
• A disabled child premium 
• Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
• A child who is under five in the family

 

How much do you get?

This year you will get £25 when the average temperature where you live is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees Celsius or below over seven consecutive days during the period from 1 November to 31 March. Specified Meteorological Office weather stations are used to obtain this information.

 How to apply

You don’t need to apply; you’ll get a Cold Weather Payment automatically as long as you qualify. Tell your pension centre or Jobcentre Plus if you think you should have received a Cold Weather Payment but you have not had one.Note: Cold Weather Payment will not affect other benefits you may be getting.

 

Winter Fuel Payment

If you have reached the qualifying age you may get a Winter Fuel Payment to help pay for keeping warm in winter. This can be between £125 and £400 depending on your situation. Find out if you are eligible for this payment and how to apply.

Who is eligible?

You could get Winter Fuel Payment if both the following apply:

• you have reached the qualifying age (born on or before 5 July 1950)
• you normally live in Great Britain or Northern Ireland on any day in the week of 20–26 September 2010

 You won’t qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment if, during the week of 20–26 September 2010:

• You were in hospital for more than 52 weeks previously, getting free treatment as an inpatient
• You were in custody serving a court sentence
• You were subject to immigration control and did not qualify for help from the Department for Work and Pensions
• You lived in a care home, an independent hospital or Ilford Park Polish Resettlement Home (and had done so for the previous 12 weeks or more) and you were on Pension Credit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance

Once you have qualified for a Winter Fuel Payment, you may be able to continue to receive future payments if you move to another European Economic Area country.

 

How to get your winter fuel payment:

You should automatically get the Winter Fuel Payment without applying if you have reached the qualifying age by 26 September 2010, and either:

• You got a Winter Fuel Payment last winter and you still meet the conditions for getting it 
• You got State Pension or another benefit except Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit or Child  Benefit during the week of 20–26 September 2009

 If your partner is getting any of the following benefits then they will receive the Winter Fuel Payment:

• Pension Credit
• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Employment and Support Allowance (income related)

Otherwise, if you think you qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment, then you will need to apply. Call the Winter Fuel Payment Helpline on 0845 9 15 15 15 or get a claim form online. This means you will need to apply if you don’t claim benefits, don’t get State Pension, or if the only benefits you get are Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit or Child Benefit.

 

Get a claim form

 The claim form for winter 2010/11 will be available from August 2010. You only need to claim once. After this you should automatically get Winter Fuel Payment each year as long as your circumstances do not change.

 

Microgeneration – Low Carbon Buildings Programme

You can apply for grants of up to £2,500 per building if you are installing approved systems to generate your own electricity. Producing clean, green energy in your home can help to reduce your carbon emissions and could also bring down your fuel bills.

Microgeneration means when individuals, businesses and communities generate low carbon heat and power to meet their own needs. Microgeneration systems use a range of technologies like wind, solar and hydro power.

 If you’re a householder and want to install microgeneration technologies, you can apply for a grant to cover part (up to 50 per cent) of the installation cost. Currently, the maximum amount is £2,500 per property.

Grants are provided by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). They are delivered through the Energy Saving Trust (EST) as part of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) Phase 1.

 

Who is eligible?

 To be eligible for a grant, you must:

• Make sure your home is energy efficient (see below for details)
• Choose an approved installer and product
• Speak to your local authority about planning requirements before applying for a grant

How much do you get?

You can apply for funding for up to three different technologies in one building, and for as many as three different buildings. There is a maximum of £2,500 of funding available per building. The current grant levels for different technologies are:

 

Technology	Maximum amount of grant
Solar photovoltaics (solar panels)	Maximum of £2,000 per kilowatt (kW) of installed capacity, subject to an overall maximum of £2,500 or 50 per cent of the relevant eligible costs, whichever is the lower
Wind turbines	Maximum of £1,000 per kW of installed capacity, subject to an overall maximum of £2,500 or 30 per cent of the relevant eligible costs, whichever is the lower
Small hydro	Maximum of £1,000 per kW of installed capacity, subject to an overall maximum of £2,500 or 30 per cent of the relevant eligible costs, whichever is the lower
Solar thermal hot water	Overall maximum of £400 or 30 per cent of the relevant eligible costs, whichever is the lower
Ground source heat pumps	Overall maximum of £1,200 or 30 per cent of the relevant eligible costs, whichever is the lower
Automated wood pellet fed room heaters/stoves	Overall maximum of £600 or 20 per cent of the relevant eligible costs, whichever is the lower
Wood fuelled boiler systems	Overall maximum of £1,500 or 30 per cent of the relevant eligible costs, whichever is the lower

What must I do before applying?

Before applying, you need to make sure you have:

• Insulated the whole of the loft of the property to meet current building regulations (eg 270 millimetres of loft insulation or suitable alternative)
• Installed cavity wall insulation (if you have cavity walls)
• Fitted low energy light bulbs in all appropriate light fittings
• Installed basic controls for your heating system to include a room thermostat and a programmer or timer

It’s advisable to complete a home energy check to assess which measures are most suitable for your home. You can also call your local Energy Saving Trust advice centre on 0800 512 012 for guidance on energy efficiency measures and grants available in your area.

 

How it works

Here’s a step-by-step guide to the process:

 1.      Check the energy efficiency of your home:

Check that you have completed the energy efficiency measures required by the programme

 2.      Check if you need planning permission:

Make sure you have obtained planning permission for your installation if necessary. Since spring 2008, most microgeneration installations which have little or no impact outside the property have not needed planning consent. Check the planning portal for more information.

 3.      Get a quote

You need to obtain a quote from an approved installer. The Microgeneration Certification scheme provides consumers with independent certification of microgeneration products and services and a route for complaints.

4.       Make an application online

See the ‘How to apply’ section below.

 5.       Install the technology

After receiving a grant offer via email, order the equipment and begin installing the technology. The grant validity period varies by technology.

 6.      Make a claim

After you have completed the installation and paid the installer, you can submit the claim documents to the Energy Saving Trust. The grant claim is checked and, if in order, the grant will be issued within 25 working days of receipt of all the documentation.

 

How to apply

You can apply for a grant online through the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. If you apply online you will get an instant decision on whether a grant application has been successful or not.

 

Household Benefits Package

The Household Benefits Package is made up of a gas or electricity allowance, a telephone allowance and a free television licence.

 

Who is Eligible?

To qualify, you must be:

• Aged 70 or over OR
• Getting a Carer’s Allowance (or be the carer of someone getting constant attendance or Prescribed Relative’s Allowance) OR
• Aged under 70, getting a qualifying payment (includes all State Pensions) and living alone or only with excepted people OR
• Aged between 66 and 69, satisfy a means test and living alone or only with excepted people

You must also satisfy three conditions:

• You must be living on an all-year-round basis at the address to which the benefits will apply
• No other person in the household can be getting the benefits
• You must be the registered consumer/account holder

 In general, if you live in a nursing/retirement home where the accommodation is not fully self-contained, you will not qualify.

 

How it works

Electricity/Gas Allowance

The Electricity/Gas Allowance has four different options, depending on your circumstances. You can only get one of the four options at a time:

a) Electricity Allowance (note there are several electricity suppliers)

b) Natural Gas Allowance

c) Electricity (Group Account) Allowance

d) Bottled Gas Refill Allowance

 

Boiler Scrappage Scheme (Currently only available to residents of Wales)

The UK has one of the most ambitious CO2 emission reduction targets in the world. The installation of an efficient heating system is an effective way of reducing household energy bills and CO2 emissions, as domestic heating accounts for 14 per cent of the UK’s CO2 emissions.

New boilers have rated efficiencies of 90 per cent or more meaning that they use less fuel, resulting in lower CO2 emissions and running costs. Renewable heat technologies do not use fossil fuels, reducing CO2 emissions still further. For example, this means by upgrading your G-rated boiler to an A-rated one, your household heating bill should drop by about a quarter – a saving, on average, of around £235 a year

Vouchers worth £500 will be available from April 6 for the boiler scrappage scheme in Wales. The scrappage scheme in Wales will specifically target people in fuel poverty, and from April 6 the scheme will be open to applications from homeowners over the age of 60 who can apply for a £500 voucher towards the cost of replacing a G-rated boiler with an A-rated boiler.

Who is eligible?

Households with a G-rated boiler

How to apply

From April 6 applicants will be able to apply by telephone on 0800 316 2816 or online at www.heeswales.co.uk. Successful applicants will be sent a voucher worth £500, which would then be presented to an installer registered with the scheme who would install the replacement boiler.

Applicants to the Welsh boiler scrappage scheme may also be able to benefit from additional discounts offered by British Gas, Eaga Heat, Npower hometeam and Swalec.

 

Energy suppliers and local authorities also provide grants to help you implement energy saving measures in your home:

Energy Suppliers

The Government’s Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC) has been replaced by the Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT) this means energy suppliers with a certain number of customers operating in Great Britain are obliged to achieve targets for improving home energy efficiency. The suppliers therefore provide a range of offers which significantly reduce the cost of installing energy efficiency measures. What’s more, you can take up offers from any of the energy companies, regardless of who supplies your gas and electricity, as well as them supplying you information on the above.

 Local authorities

Most Local authorities provide grants and offers for local residents to install certain energy efficiency measures in their home.