UK to pay £100 energy support to 20 million households this winter

Chancellor John Healey announced a one-off £100 Household Energy Payment for around 20 million households in council tax bands A to D during his Budget on Wednesday.

The £2.6 billion scheme will pay the money directly into bank accounts to help families cope with rising energy bills driven by the conflict in the Middle East.

“Many who receive it won’t need it, while the most vulnerable are struggling in unheated, damp homes.”

Eligibility covers roughly 70 per cent of all residential properties in England, including an estimated 83 per cent of fuel-stressed households and 88 per cent of households in the bottom three income deciles.

The government also plans to scrap green levies from household energy bills and remove standing charges from gas bills, moving levy costs into general taxation.

Campaigners and economists have criticised the measure as poorly targeted, warning that many wealthier households will receive money they may not need while the most vulnerable struggle in cold, damp homes.

National Energy Action chief executive Adam Scorer said many recipients will not need the payment while vulnerable people remain in unheated homes.

Typical annual energy bills are expected to rise 27 per cent to £2,200 next year, meaning the one-off payment may barely dent the predicted increase.