The Warm Home Discount scheme will continue across Great Britain for a further five years, to winter 2030/31, following a government consultation. The decision also merges Core Group 1 and Core Group 2 into a single Core Group in England and Wales1.
The Warm Home Discount provides a discount of £150 off electricity bills between October and March for eligible customers in England, Wales and Scotland. Eligible customers are essentially those who get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit or have a low income evidenced by other specified benefit receipt. Electricity suppliers apply the discount to the bill automatically in England and Wales if eligible; in Scotland people on low income need to contact their energy suppliers to apply1.
The scheme was expanded from October 2025 to include more households experiencing fuel poverty, following a government announcement in June 20251. Details of how the merged Core Group will work, and who will qualify under it, have not been reported.
The briefing setting out the continuation also records changes to other support. From April 2026, both the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments in England will be replaced by a new Crisis and Resilience Fund, to be delivered by local authorities. From January 2026, Ofgem will begin regulating heat networks1.
Separate winter payments for older people continue on their own rules. The Winter Fuel Payment is an annual, lump-sum payment for older people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, administered by the Department for Work and Pensions in England and Wales and by the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland. The standard amounts for winter 2025/26 are £200 per eligible household where the oldest person is under 80, and £300 for households containing a person aged 80 or over. To qualify, a person must have reached State Pension age by the end of the September qualifying week, which for winter 2025/26 was the week ending 21 September. If a person's individual taxable income is over £35,000 for the 2025/26 tax year, HM Revenue and Customs will recoup their payment via the tax system1.
In Scotland, the Scottish Government has introduced the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment to replace the Winter Fuel Payment, administered by Social Security Scotland. For winter 2025/26 the rates are £203.40 per eligible household where the oldest person is under 80, and £305.10 for households containing a person aged 80 or over. As with the Winter Fuel Payment, HMRC will recoup any PAWHP received for winter 2025/26 if individual taxable income is over £35,000 for that tax year1.
| Payment | Nation | Winter 2025/26 amount |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Fuel Payment | England, Wales, Northern Ireland | £200 (oldest person under 80); £300 (person aged 80 or over) |
| Pension Age Winter Heating Payment | Scotland | £203.40 (oldest person under 80); £305.10 (person aged 80 or over) |
| Cold Weather Payment | England, Wales, Northern Ireland | £25 per week of cold weather |
| Winter Heating Payment | Scotland | £59.75 single annual payment |
Cold Weather Payments are made to certain recipients of means-tested benefits in England, Wales and Northern Ireland during periods of very cold weather, at £25 for each week of cold weather, with the scheme running from 1 November to 31 March each winter. A payment is triggered where the average temperature at the relevant weather station is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0°C or below for seven consecutive days. In Scotland, the Winter Heating Payment replaced the Cold Weather Payment from winter 2022/23; a single, annual payment of £59.75 will be made to all eligible households for winter 2025/26, and unlike the Cold Weather Payment, eligibility does not depend on a period of cold weather where the household lives1.
Why it matters for households
The continuation to 2030/31 gives the Warm Home Discount a five-year horizon, which matters to any household whose bill support has depended on a scheme renewed a year at a time. The £150 is applied to electricity bills between October and March, so it lands in the months when consumption is highest. Because the discount is applied automatically in England and Wales for eligible customers, the practical question for most households is whether they fall inside the eligibility rules rather than whether they need to apply; in Scotland, low-income households need to contact their supplier1. The merger of the two Core Groups in England and Wales changes the structure of eligibility there, and the detail of who is covered under the single group has not been reported.
For a home's energy independence, the discount reduces the cash cost of grid electricity over winter but does not change how much energy a home uses or where it comes from. The separate winter payments operate on different triggers: the Winter Fuel Payment is age-based and paid automatically to most eligible people, while Cold Weather Payments depend on sustained cold at a linked weather station, so two similar homes in different postcodes can receive different amounts in the same winter1.
What happens next
The scheme continues to winter 2030/31, with the merged Core Group applying in England and Wales1. From April 2026, the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments in England are replaced by the Crisis and Resilience Fund, delivered by local authorities. From January 2026, Ofgem begins regulating heat networks1.
Sources1 cited
- [](https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06163/SN06163.pdf), researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk