The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) published a Government Response on 19 June 2025 confirming that the expansion of the Warm Home Discount would be implemented for winter 2025/261. DESNZ had consulted on proposals to expand the scheme in February 20251.
The change applies to Core Group 2 in England and Wales. Up to 2024/25, Core Group 2 supported only households receiving a qualifying means-tested benefit that also lived in a home that was hard to heat. From 2025/26, eligibility was broadened so that any household receiving a qualifying means-tested benefit is eligible1. Core Group 1 continues to support pensioners on a low income receiving the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit1. Scotland operates a separate Broader Group, under which low-income and vulnerable households apply to their supplier1.
"A Government Response was published on 19 June 2025 confirming that the expansion would be implemented for winter 2025/26."
The discount is a one-off £150 off household electricity bills1. In 2025/26, Core Group rebates of £150 went to 5.52 million households in Great Britain, based on DWP administrative data covering Core Group 1 (Great Britain) and Core Group 2 (England and Wales)1. That figure excludes the Scotland Broader Group, for which household-level data are not available; around 186 thousand households received support through it in 2024/25, and including an estimate of similar size would bring the 2025/26 total to around 5.7 million1. Total spend on Core Group rebates, excluding the Scotland Broader Group and industry initiatives, was £827.6 million1. Compared with equivalent parts of the scheme in 2024/25, that is an estimated increase of around 2.3 million households (71%) and around £344.2 million of support1.
Delivery by group, 2025/261:
| Group | Households | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Core Group 1 | 983 thousand | Great Britain |
| Core Group 2 | 4.53 million | England and Wales |
In England and Wales, 889 thousand households received the rebate under Core Group 1, 90% of the Great Britain Core Group 1 total, and 94 thousand in Scotland made up the remaining 10%1. Core Group 2 rose from 2.27 million households the previous year to 4.53 million1. Most households in Great Britain, 5.3 million or 96%, received an automatic rebate based on data matching, with a further 224 thousand receiving rebates after contacting the WHD Helpline1. In England and Wales, 20.0% of all households received the rebate, up from 11.7% in 2024/25; the highest regional rate was the North East at 25.4% and the lowest the South East at 15.7%1. In Scotland, 3.7% of households received it through the Core Group in 2025/261.
The Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, in a report published on 29 October 2025, said the Government announced in June 2025 that all named bill payers receiving certain means-tested benefits in England and Wales would be eligible from winter 2025-26, and recommended reforming the scheme so that it is more responsive to rising wholesale prices and targeted based on household need2. The Committee also said the social tariff was replaced by the Warm Home Discount in 2011, and that its value has failed to keep pace with the soaring cost of energy2. It put a typical domestic consumer's annual electricity and gas cost under the Energy Price Cap at around £1,7202.
Why it matters for households
Removing the high-cost-to-heat test separates eligibility from the property and ties it to benefit receipt, so a household on a qualifying means-tested benefit is no longer excluded because of the home's energy performance. The practical effect is a wider automatic route to the £150 credit: eligibility is assessed from DWP data, and the rebate is applied to the electricity account rather than paid as cash1. For a household's energy independence, the discount reduces the winter electricity bill but does not change the home's running costs, and it is separate from the Winter Fuel Payment and from insulation and heating grant schemes such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the Great British Insulation Scheme. The Committee's evidence noted that domestic energy debt reached £4.15bn at the beginning of 2025, its highest since records began2.
What happens next
Ofgem will publish the total number of rebates for the Scotland Broader Group and the cost of industry initiatives in the 2025/26 scheme year in 20271. The Committee's report was published on 29 October 2025 and the Government has two months to respond2.
Sources2 cited
- Warm Home Discount statistics, 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK, gov.uk
- Tackling the energy cost crisis, publications.parliament.uk