The Scottish Emergency Heating Oil Scheme opened to applications on 1 April 2026, administered by the charity Advice Direct Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government1. It pays £300 per eligible household directly to the applicant's heating oil or LPG supplier1. The Scottish Government announced the fund on 17 March, saying it would launch on 1 April and that eligibility details would be published in the coming days2.
The scheme is aimed at low-income and vulnerable households facing increased oil and LPG heating costs, and prioritises households receiving means-tested social security benefits and vulnerable people in financial hardship1. Advice Direct Scotland states that people on universal credit, Scottish child payment, housing benefit, income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-based employment and support allowance, and pension credit should automatically qualify, and that others in financial hardship at risk of cutting back on heat, who are classed as vulnerable, may also qualify1. Applicants must supply evidence of eligibility1.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Payment | £300 per eligible household, paid directly to supplier1 |
| Fuels covered | Heating oil and LPG1 |
| Administered by | Advice Direct Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government1 |
| Duration | Up to six months, kept under review1 |
The Scottish scheme sits alongside UK-wide funding announced by the Chancellor on 16 March, which allocated £4.6 million to the Scottish Government, £17 million to Northern Ireland, £27 million to England and £3.8 million to Wales3. The Scottish Government said it would commit an additional £5.4 million on top of the £4.6 million allocated by the UK Government, and that the UK support equated to only £33 per household using oil heating2. It estimates that approximately 142,000 Scottish households use heating oil, and that around 6% of households in Scotland rely on alternative fuels, with rural and island areas disproportionately affected2. The UK Government states that 1.5 million UK households use heating oil and that oil heating is not covered by the energy price cap and is not regulated by Ofgem3.
"Applications are now open for the new Scottish Emergency Heating Oil Scheme, which provides £300 to eligible Scots struggling to pay the rising cost of oil and LPG heating."
Why it matters for households
Heating oil and LPG users buy fuel upfront rather than by monthly bill, so a price spike has to be met with a lump sum before any heat arrives. The £300 goes to the supplier rather than the household, which means it reduces the amount needed to fill or part-fill a tank rather than arriving as cash. Because oil heating sits outside the energy price cap and outside Ofgem regulation, households on these fuels have no equivalent of the capped unit rates that gas and electricity customers receive3. For a home off the gas grid, this scheme is a one-off payment against a running cost that the household still controls entirely: how much fuel to buy, when to buy it and at what price. The wider grants and schemes landscape differs by nation, and the nations hub sets out how support compares across the UK.
What happens next
The scheme will run for up to six months and will be kept under review1. The Scottish Government has not reported a closing date for applications. Separately, the UK Government has said it intends to introduce new consumer protections for heating oil customers, including a strengthened industry Code of Practice, a formalised Priority Customers Register, and exploration of a new ombudsman or the appointment of a regulator such as Ofgem through the Energy Independence Bill3. The Competition and Markets Authority is examining reports of cancelled orders followed by higher quotes and price increases for automated deliveries3.
Sources4 cited
- Fund opens for Scots to claim £300 heating oil support – Advice Direct Scotland, advicedirect.scot
- Help for households using heating oil - gov.scot, gov.scot
- Over £50 million to help families struggling with soaring heating oil costs - GOV.UK, gov.uk
- Heating Oil Support - Hansard - UK Parliament, hansard.parliament.uk