The Government stated in the Autumn Statement 2022 that local councils will receive £1 billion to fund Household Support Fund payments1. The announcement was reported by the disability charity Scope, which campaigns on the cost of living for disabled people1.
Scope's research found that awareness of the Household Support Fund among disabled people is low, with only 8% saying they successfully applied1. The charity said awareness of the fund needs to be greatly improved so that more disabled people can access the funding the scheme offers1.
The Autumn Statement figure sits alongside other support Scope examined. It reported that 57% of disabled people eligible for the £650 cost of living payment said it would not be enough to cover their increased costs for essentials, and that 80% of disabled people receiving the £150 cost of living payment said it would not be enough1. On the Warm Home Discount, Scope said the £150 rebate is welcomed, but that recent eligibility changes have meant 290,000 disabled people have been removed from the scheme1.
Scope also reported pressure on its own services. Its Disability Energy Support service has seen a 500% increase in referrals compared with the same time last year, and in September 2022 alone 44,000 people accessed its cost of living advice and support, a 72% increase on the previous year1. It said 58% of callers to its energy helpline have benefits as their sole means of income, and on average face debts of £1,417.201.
"In the Government's Autumn Statement 2022, they stated local councils will receive £1 billion to fund these payments."
Scope's report also set out recommendations covering an energy social tariff, bringing forward the additional £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment, reversing Warm Home Discount eligibility changes, and overhauling how benefits are uprated with inflation1. It said 86% of disabled people support the social tariff recommendation1.
Why it matters for households
The Household Support Fund is administered by local councils rather than energy suppliers, so the £1 billion reaches households as local discretionary payments rather than as a deduction on a bill1. For a household already receiving means-tested benefits, that makes awareness of the scheme and of how to apply to a council the practical route to the money, and Scope's finding that only 8% of disabled people surveyed had successfully applied points to a gap between the funding and the households it is intended to reach1.
The wider context Scope describes is one of support that households report as insufficient against their costs. The £150 Warm Home Discount rebate is a fixed credit on an electricity bill, and the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment is a one-off payment; Scope reported that most recipients of both said the amounts would not cover their increased essential costs1. Its finding that 290,000 disabled people have been removed from the Warm Home Discount through eligibility changes is a reduction in the number of households receiving that bill support1.
For a home's energy independence, the significance is that none of these payments changes how much energy a property uses or how it is supplied. They are cash transfers and bill credits that offset cost. Scope's separate recommendations, such as pausing standing charges or a discounted energy rate for disabled customers, would change how bills are structured, but these are proposals from a charity and not Government policy1.
What happens next
Scope said the further £150 payment promised by the Government should be made now rather than waiting until 2023, and that the payment made in October 2022 is likely to have been used already1. It also reported that in October 2022 the Chancellor announced a review into energy support led by the Treasury1. No date has been reported for the outcome of that review, and no date has been reported for when councils will receive the £1 billion or begin making payments from it.
Households in England can read more on help for low-income households in England, and households in Northern Ireland on help for low-income households in Northern Ireland. The wider picture of how grants and schemes relate to household energy independence is set out in the grants and schemes section, and support for vulnerable and medically dependent households is covered separately.