Grants and Help Available To Keep People and Homes Warm — Scope | Disability forum
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Grants and Help Available To Keep People and Homes Warm

happyfella
happyfella Community member Posts: 486 Pioneering
With Universal credit being cut, and with fuel prices going up and according to the weather people, we could be having a bad winter, i thought it would be a good idea for people to leave here information on grants available to make homes warmer and other help. There are some well known ones and there are others that no one knows about.

I personally missed out on that shocking green scheme, and everyone i know also missed out. They were awarded the fund but due to cutting the scheme short, suppliers could not keep up with demand.

So, I am wondering, what other help is available out there to help keep homes warmer, like insulation in the loft, wall insullation, and so on
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Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,352 Disability Gamechanger
    edited September 2021
    The warm home discount.. https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme some energy supliers have already opened their applications so the sooner you apply the more chance you have of receiving the £140.
    If your home doesn't have loft insulation and cavitiy wall insulation then see here. https://www.freeinsulation.co.uk/who-qualifies-insulation-grants/
    The cold weather payment starts from 1st November. You'll get £25 for every 7 days that the weather in your area falls 0 degrees and below. For this you need to be claiming certain benefits and looking through previous threads of yours i see you claim Universal Credit. If you've been assessed with the work capability assessment and have LCW or LCWRA then you will qualify for this payment. If you don't have LCW or LCWRA then you won'tt qualify for the payments. https://www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment/eligibility




    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • woodbine
    woodbine Community member Posts: 11,521 Disability Gamechanger
    The green home scheme did work, we got an almost £4,000 grant from it, however it did end on 31/03 but the money was handed to local councils who now run the LAD scheme, the govt. also announced a £500 m scheme today via councils to help out poorer people through the winter.
    2024 The year of the general election...the time for change is coming 💡

  • happyfella
    happyfella Community member Posts: 486 Pioneering
    woodbine said:
    The green home scheme did work, we got an almost £4,000 grant from it, however it did end on 31/03 but the money was handed to local councils who now run the LAD scheme, the govt. also announced a £500 m scheme today via councils to help out poorer people through the winter.

    60 people i have spoken to in my area applied and was approved, but none of them got any work done. This was due to lots of suppliers did not want to take part in the scheme and also because the government cut the date short. My daughter who lives in a different area never got it, and she knows over 30 people who applied but the work was never done. It was a complete failure. a lot of money was wasted on admin instead of sorting the scheme out
  • woodbine
    woodbine Community member Posts: 11,521 Disability Gamechanger
    The people who did the actual work for us were great, the problem was it took them 4 months to get paid, I understand that in some ways it's far better now that councils are running the scheme (which must be a first !)
    2024 The year of the general election...the time for change is coming 💡

  • happyfella
    happyfella Community member Posts: 486 Pioneering
    It should have been council led in the first place. The new scheme requires a house to be checked to see how it rates on this energy rating. If it ranks high then you do not get any grant, but if your home is shown to need help then you do get help. This is the way it should have been done in the first place
  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Community member Posts: 13,368 Disability Gamechanger
    I just want to say thanks for raising the topic of the warm home discount as it prompted me to do some research. I always just assumed that because I lived at home with my parents, one of whom works and is not on a low income, that we would not be eligible. However, it turns out we can get it.
  • Hollyblue
    Hollyblue Community member Posts: 9 Connected
    @poppy123456 I just found out about this scheme yesterday and intend to apply with my new energy supplier. It will be a great help as last year I just lived in my bed during the winter  as was too scared to put heating on for fear of not being able to pay the bills.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,352 Disability Gamechanger
    edited October 2021
    66Mustang said:
    I just want to say thanks for raising the topic of the warm home discount as it prompted me to do some research. I always just assumed that because I lived at home with my parents, one of whom works and is not on a low income, that we would not be eligible. However, it turns out we can get it.

    Usually you have to be named on the energy account or the partner of the person named on the account. Unless you're a child of 5 or under (which i know you're not) :)
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • happyfella
    happyfella Community member Posts: 486 Pioneering
    We have applied for a new scheme under the council. They have to come out and assess the rating of your property. When he came out as we have not received the result of the rating yet, he said you need to have all the radiators changed as they were very old and not producing the required heat. he said we need a new system. that is not part of the council led scheme, and this is not something we could afford at the moment. not sure if anyone has replaced their radiators and know how much it would cost, or if there is any help available
  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Community member Posts: 13,368 Disability Gamechanger
    66Mustang said:
    I just want to say thanks for raising the topic of the warm home discount as it prompted me to do some research. I always just assumed that because I lived at home with my parents, one of whom works and is not on a low income, that we would not be eligible. However, it turns out we can get it.

    Usually you have to be named on the energy account or the partner of the person named on the account. Unless you're a child of 5 or under (which i know you're not) :)
    Yeah I read that too. Luckily my parents’ energy company are happy for anyone to be put onto the account as long as they live at the address. :)
  • woodbine
    woodbine Community member Posts: 11,521 Disability Gamechanger
    We have applied for a new scheme under the council. They have to come out and assess the rating of your property. When he came out as we have not received the result of the rating yet, he said you need to have all the radiators changed as they were very old and not producing the required heat. he said we need a new system. that is not part of the council led scheme, and this is not something we could afford at the moment. not sure if anyone has replaced their radiators and know how much it would cost, or if there is any help available
    Rads aren't that expensive we replaced one last year cost £30 IIRC, if your boiler is over 7 years old it might be worth looking into the ECO scheme which is run by the utility companies.

    https://eco3.org.uk
    2024 The year of the general election...the time for change is coming 💡

  • Lisatho11987777
    Lisatho11987777 Scope Member Posts: 5,911 Disability Gamechanger
    We have a free scheme in wales if you get benefits and some energy suppliers do it for free as well don't know if you get that in England 
  • veriterc
    veriterc Community member Posts: 241 Pioneering
    I have just had a new gas boiler installed (£3000 worth) under the Warmer Homes scheme.  I had an electric boiler (installed by previous owner when the Govt. had some bee-in-the-bonnet about it being Eco-friendly) and it was far too expensive to run.  It took 6 months of form filling and waiting, but finally it's been worth it!
  • MarkM88
    MarkM88 Community member Posts: 3,127 Connected
    We have a free scheme in wales if you get benefits and some energy suppliers do it for free as well don't know if you get that in England 
    Could you provide a source for people in case they are interested? It’s more helpful. 
  • calcotti
    calcotti Community member Posts: 10,010 Disability Gamechanger
    edited October 2021
    woodbine said:
    The green home scheme did work, ..
    For the lucky few that may be true but as a scheme the NAO concluded
    "The Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme was delivered to an over-ambitious timetable and was not executed to an acceptable standard, significantly limiting its impact on job creation and carbon reduction."
    "Many homeowners and installers had a poor experience using the scheme."
    https://www.nao.org.uk/press-release/green-homes-grant-voucher-scheme/
    https://www.nao.org.uk/report/green-homes-grant/
    Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Rules may be different in other parts of UK.
  • happyfella
    happyfella Community member Posts: 486 Pioneering
    woodbine said:
    We have applied for a new scheme under the council. They have to come out and assess the rating of your property. When he came out as we have not received the result of the rating yet, he said you need to have all the radiators changed as they were very old and not producing the required heat. he said we need a new system. that is not part of the council led scheme, and this is not something we could afford at the moment. not sure if anyone has replaced their radiators and know how much it would cost, or if there is any help available
    Rads aren't that expensive we replaced one last year cost £30 IIRC, if your boiler is over 7 years old it might be worth looking into the ECO scheme which is run by the utility companies.

    https://eco3.org.uk
    Tried going on the website but it does not work. there is an error when you try and submit the enquiry

  • Tori_Scope
    Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,488 Disability Gamechanger
    There's some further information and links on this Which? page @happyfella- does that help? 
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  • TheAlien
    TheAlien Community member Posts: 228 Pioneering
    As a council tenant there's very few options.  I don't qualify for warm home discount through my energy supplier as I'm not on pension credit (the only benefit that they accept on the scheme) and I'm not allowed to make alterations to the property.

    I don't have cavity wall insulation because the flat above is private so the council refused to do it, I don't have a loft to insulate, and I have damp and mould in my flat.

    And I can't move because I'm on legacy benefits and would face a massive drop in income swapping over to UC.

    All in all, I'm sort of stuck, falling between yet more cracks in the system.
  • woodbine
    woodbine Community member Posts: 11,521 Disability Gamechanger
    @TheAlien have you spoke to your supplier as there are two groups for warm home discount, pension credit being one the other with other benefits

    https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme/low-income
    2024 The year of the general election...the time for change is coming 💡

  • woodbine
    woodbine Community member Posts: 11,521 Disability Gamechanger
    calcotti said:
    woodbine said:
    The green home scheme did work, ..
    For the lucky few that may be true but as a scheme the NAO concluded
    "The Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme was delivered to an over-ambitious timetable and was not executed to an acceptable standard, significantly limiting its impact on job creation and carbon reduction."
    "Many homeowners and installers had a poor experience using the scheme."
    https://www.nao.org.uk/press-release/green-homes-grant-voucher-scheme/
    https://www.nao.org.uk/report/green-homes-grant/
    The problem the installers had was getting paid, we had no problems getting our underfloor insulation done and neither did a number of our neighbours.
    2024 The year of the general election...the time for change is coming 💡

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