Eligibility statement for Warm Home Discount 2026 to 2027 published

The Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published the eligibility statement for the Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales for the 2026 to 2027 scheme year on 7 August 2026¹. The statement applies to England and Wales¹.

The scheme obliges participating energy suppliers to provide rebates to eligible low-income households, and is intended to help households in, or at risk of, fuel poverty with direct energy bill payments as well as other financial and energy-related support¹. Publication is a statutory duty: under Regulation 10 of the Warm Home Discount (England and Wales) Regulations 2026, the Secretary of State must publish an eligibility statement for each scheme year¹.

The published GOV.UK page gives the scheme's purpose and the legal basis for the statement, and links to the eligibility statement document itself¹. It does not set out the qualifying benefits, the discount amount or the payment timetable on the page text available¹. Those operational details have not been reported in the statement page itself.

Separate guidance from Independent Age states that people qualify for the Warm Home Discount for 2026/27 if all of a set of conditions applied to them on 24 August 2026: that they or their partner receive certain benefits, including Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Housing Benefit or income-related Employment and Support Allowance; that their or their partner's name is on the electricity bill; and that their supplier has signed up to the scheme². It adds that people who do not receive one of the listed benefits may still qualify if they are on a low income and, in England or Wales, receive one of the other qualifying benefits such as Housing Benefit, the Savings Credit part of Pension Credit, or Universal Credit².

Independent Age puts the discount at usually £150, taken off the energy bill by the supplier by 31 March 2027 rather than paid in cash². It says people in England or Wales should receive a letter if they qualify, and that those who have not received a letter but believe they are eligible should apply by calling the Warm Home Discount helpline, which it says must be done before 27 February 2026². That deadline falls before the 24 August 2026 qualifying date given on the same page, and the two dates are not reconciled in the guidance².

Why it matters for households

The statement fixes the eligibility rules for the 2026 to 2027 scheme year in England and Wales, so households in, or at risk of, fuel poverty can see the basis on which suppliers must provide rebates¹. The discount is a reduction on the electricity bill rather than a cash payment, applied by the supplier by 31 March 2027 under the guidance figure of usually £150². Eligibility turns on benefit receipt, whose name is on the electricity bill, and whether the supplier participates in the scheme². Scotland operates the Warm Home Discount under separate arrangements, with Independent Age noting that people there who do not receive Guarantee Pension Credit should contact their energy supplier, and that spaces are limited². Households on pre-pay or pay-as-you-go meters are advised by that guidance to ask their supplier how the discount is applied².

What happens next

The eligibility statement for the 2026 to 2027 scheme year has been published¹. Independent Age states that most eligible people in England and Wales will be paid automatically from November 2026, and that anyone eligible who has not been paid by 27 January 2027 should contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre to make a claim². It also states that people who have not received a Warm Home Discount letter but think they are eligible should call the helpline before 27 February 2026².