The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) published interim findings from the evaluation of the Warm Home Discount scheme on 30 April 20261. The report covers the 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 scheme years and applies to England and Wales1.
DESNZ commissioned RSM UK to evaluate the scheme in England and Wales from August 2023 to November 20261. The interim report presents findings on recipient and supplier experiences from the two scheme years1. The findings were drawn from interviews and a survey with scheme recipients, and interviews with representatives from participating energy suppliers1.
"This interim report presents findings on recipient and supplier experiences from the 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 scheme years."
The publication comprises an interim report of 43 pages and a set of annexes of 25 pages, issued in both PDF and HTML, under reference RAF037/22231. The evaluation is being carried out by DESNZ, the department responsible for home energy policy1.
The published page does not set out the evaluation's conclusions on the scheme's performance, nor any figures for payment levels, recipient numbers or supplier spending. Those details sit in the report and annexes themselves. The page also does not state whether the findings will lead to changes in who qualifies for the Warm Home Discount or in how the scheme is delivered. No comparison with an energy social tariff is made on the published page.
Why it matters for households
The Warm Home Discount is a grant applied to electricity bills for households that meet the scheme's criteria, so the experience of recipients is the practical test of whether it reaches the homes it is meant to help. An evaluation that draws on interviews and a survey with recipients, alongside interviews with suppliers, examines both sides of the transaction: whether households understood and received the discount, and how suppliers administered it1.
For a household's energy independence, the discount reduces the amount owed on electricity over the winter period, which matters most where a home is already close to its budget. The interim report covers the 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 scheme years, a period when the discount was a live support mechanism for eligible homes in England and Wales1. Scotland is not covered by this evaluation1.
Because the evaluation runs to November 2026, the findings published now are interim. Households and the advisers working with them have no published indication yet of whether the scheme's design or eligibility rules will change as a result. The grants and schemes landscape more broadly is unaffected by this publication on its own.
What happens next
The evaluation runs from August 2023 to November 20261. A final report is expected at the end of that period, though the published page does not give a date for it. No next steps for the scheme itself have been reported.