Vouchers issued under the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) had to be redeemed by 30 June 2023, the final deadline for the £400 per household discount paid across Great Britain1. The scheme ran from October 2022 until March 2023, with the last payment made in March 20232. For households on traditional prepayment meters, support was delivered as monthly vouchers sent by text, email or post, and the deadline to collect any missed payments was 11.59pm on 30 June3.
The government provided £400 of support in six instalments: £66 in October and November 2022, and £67 in each of the following four months2. Vouchers expire after 90 days, or by 30 June, whichever is earlier, and households that let a voucher expire could ask their supplier for it to be reissued1. The scheme has now ended, so no further monthly discounts will be paid2.
Analysis of official government data published on 20 June 2023 by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition found that some of the poorest constituencies had the highest levels of undelivered or unredeemed payments3. In Brent Central, where more than a third of households with children are in poverty, 6.18% of vouchers were not delivered or redeemed. In Liverpool Riverside, more than 22,000 payments (5.19%) were not processed. In Hampstead and Kilburn, 43% of vouchers issued to prepayment meter households had not been redeemed; in Bradford West a third were still to be claimed, and in Preston and Pendle the figure was 29%3.
| Nation or area | Vouchers left unclaimed |
|---|---|
| London | 32% |
| Scotland | 26% |
| Rest of the UK | Lower than Scotland |
Scotland's redemption rate was worse than everywhere else in the UK apart from London, with constituencies including Edinburgh East, Edinburgh North and Leith, and Glasgow North all at 36%, and Inverclyde at 35%3.
"Far too often support payments under this scheme have not found their way to vulnerable households. There is now less than a week to go before this support will be lost to households forever."
National Energy Action chief executive Adam Scorer said that while the government response had grown to meet the challenge since October 2022, many people who need help most were falling through the cracks, and that reinvesting unspent resources should support more than 2.5 million low-income and vulnerable households no longer receiving any government support1. Frazer Scott, chief executive of Energy Action Scotland, said over one in three households in Scotland are in fuel poverty and that it "isn't right and it isn't fair that so many voucher remain unredeemed"3.
Why it matters for households
The EBSS was a fixed £400 discount applied to electricity accounts, not a means-tested grant, and it did not have to be repaid2. For households that paid by direct debit, the credit was applied automatically, so the deadline mainly affected those on traditional prepayment meters, who had to take an active step to redeem a voucher and show identification2. Vouchers could only be used to purchase electricity and could not be exchanged for cash2. Where a discount was applied to an account in debt, it may have reduced the debt balance rather than reaching the household as spendable credit2. The unclaimed totals mean a share of the support funded for those homes did not reach them, and the closed Energy Bill Support payments route is no longer open. Households now facing energy debt have separate routes, including the Energy Debt Relief Scheme and charity grants such as the British Gas Energy Trust, with national guidance for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which had a separate market and its own support arrangements.
What happens next
The scheme has closed and no further EBSS payments will be made2. The government has not reported any extension of the redemption deadline beyond 30 June 2023. National Energy Action has called for unspent resources committed to energy bill support to be reinvested to help households no longer receiving government support1.
Sources3 cited
- National Energy Action responds to cross-party MP report on energy bill support - National Energy Action (NEA), nea.org.uk
- Energy Bills Support Scheme | Ecotricity, ecotricity.co.uk
- Poorest constituencies missing out on support for energy bills, endfuelpoverty.org.uk