Current Warm Home Discount regulations end on 31 March 2026

The current Warm Home Discount scheme period ends on 31 March 2026, under the Warm Home Discount (England and Wales) Regulations 2022 and the Warm Home Discount (Scotland) Regulations 2022¹. New regulations are required to continue the scheme¹. The Warm Home Discount (England and Wales) Regulations 2026 were made on 27 March 2026 and come into force on 1 April 2026, re-enacting with amendments the 2022 provisions to continue the scheme in England and Wales until 31 March 2030³. The regulations state the scheme has effect from commencement day until 31 March 2031³.

The government response to the consultation on continuing the scheme was published on 30 January 2026¹. The consultation ran from 25 September 2025 to 20 November 2025 and received 93 responses, of which 84 (90%) came from organisations and 9 (10%) from individual members of the public¹. The government decided to continue the scheme for a new five-year period from 2026/27 to 2030/31¹.

The rebate is £150, funded through a levy on all domestic gas and electricity customers¹. Since 2011 the scheme has provided £4.53bn of support through rebates and Industry Initiatives¹. In winter 2023/24, 3.35 million households received a £150 rebate¹. This winter 2025/26, after the removal of the high-cost-to-heat threshold for recipients of qualifying benefits in England and Wales, around 6 million households are estimated to receive the rebate across Great Britain, an increase of around 2.7 million on the previous year¹.

In England and Wales, the current Core Group 1 and Core Group 2 will merge into a single Core Group, retaining the expanded eligibility criteria from 2025/26¹. Around 96% of qualifying households will continue to receive their rebate automatically through data matching against DWP records¹. In Scotland, the Core Group will be expanded to align with the same qualifying benefits list as the Scottish Winter Heating Payment as of December 2025¹. Industry Initiatives will be retained into the next scheme period¹.

The 2026 regulations set non-core spending obligations for suppliers, rising from £78 million in scheme year 16 to £84 million in scheme year 20³. Suppliers with at least 1,000 GB domestic customers on 31 December preceding the scheme year are obligated to participate³.

Why it matters for households

The scheme continues without a gap: the 2022 regulations lapse on 31 March 2026 and the replacement England and Wales regulations take effect the following day¹. Households eligible for the rebate from winter 2026/27 are those where the person named on the energy bill, or their partner or legal representative, receives a qualifying benefit on the qualifying date for that scheme year¹. The rebate remains £150³. The scheme is not available in Northern Ireland, where separate support is available². The government has said it will continue exploring improvements to the reach and targeting of the scheme during the next period¹.

What happens next

The government said it will lay regulations for the next scheme period to ensure they are in force ahead of winter 2026/27¹. It will work with Ofgem, the Scottish Government and stakeholders to finalise operational details and update guidance before implementation¹. The Disclosure of State Pension Credit Information (Warm Home Discount) Regulations 2011 are amended from 1 April 2026 by the 2026 England and Wales regulations, and from 1 May 2026 by the Warm Home Discount (Scotland) Regulations 2026⁵.