Eaga Partnership Ltd manages a number of government funded schemes across England, Northern Ireland and Wales, which provide help with heating.
The rules vary but different schemes provide help for disabled people, people who have reached the qualifying age for pension credit and families with children who get a qualifying benefit or tax credits.
Help available under these schemes include the provision of:
Under the Warm Front grants scheme, help towards improvements in insulation, room heating and water heating is available to disabled people and families with children who get a qualifying benefit or tax credit and people who have reached the qualifying age for pension credit who get a means-tested benefit. Warm Front provides a maximum grant of £3,500 for installing insulation and improving heating for households using mains gas, solid fuel, oil or off-peak electricity for heating (or £6,000 where oil central heating is installed or repaired).
The Warm Front £300 Heating Rebate Scheme can help with the cost of installing central heating for pensioners not eligible for Warm Front qualifying benefits.
You can enquire about eligibility on Freephone 0800 316 2805 or apply on the eaga partnership website at www.eaga.com.
The Warm Homes scheme provides an insulation grant of up to £850 to owner occupiers and private tenants who are disabled, over 60 or with children under 16, and who are in receipt of a qualifying benefit. Warm Homes Plus provides up to a total of £4,300 for insulation and central heating for householders over 60 in receipt of a qualifying benefit. For applications/enquiries ring 0800 181 667.
The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES) provides a grant of up to £2,000 on a similar basis to Warm Front Grants.
HEES Plus provides up to £3,600 for central heating (or £5,000 where oil central heating is installed or repaired) if you are over 60, disabled, or a single parent with a child under 16 and receive a disability or income related benefit. If you are over 80 you automatically qualify for HEES Plus.
You can also get a partial grant of £500 if you are over 60 and not on a qualifying benefit.
For applications/enquiries ring 0800 316 2815 or apply on the eaga partnership website.
If you are in receipt of any of the following you may be able to get help with heating:
Phone or go to the eaga partnership website for more information.
From April 2009 the Energy Assistance Package will replace the Central Heating and Warm Deal programmes. A network of Energy Saving Advice Centres throughout Scotland will help deliver the scheme.
You may be able to get help under the Energy Assistance Package if you are:
Qualifying benefits are those related to either low income or disability. These include income support, maximum child tax credit and the guarantee element of pension credit, disability living allowance and attendance allowance.
For more information call 0800 512 012.
The social fund provides cold weather and winter fuel payments. For information on these schemes see our Factsheet F41 - the social fund.
Under the Energy Rebate Scheme six energy suppliers will give the poorest pensioner households an £80 rebate off their electricity bills this winter. For more information see www.disabilityalliance.org/heat2.htm.
The Government is also offering you up to £400 towards the cost of upgrading your boiler if you live in England in an owned or privately rented home. For more information see www.disabilityalliance.org/boiler.htm.
The Home Heat Helpline (www.homeheathelpline.org) offers help and advice for anyone living in England, Scotland and Wales.
The line advises on payment methods, grants and benefits such as winter fuel payments, cold weather payments, pension credits, disability benefits and age related payments.
Advisers will also offer help on how to stay healthy in cold weather and how to conserve heat.
The Home Heat Helpline telephone number is 0800 33 66 99. It is free to call and is open from 9am–8pm Monday to Friday and 10am–2pm on Saturdays.
There is also a free Minicom number, which is 0800 027 2122.
The Energy Saving Trust (www.energysavingtrust.org.uk)has a network of local advice centres throughout the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland (www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/northernireland) as well as online information (in the "My home" section). You can request a call back from your local advice centre by calling 0800 512 012.
The Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) web site (www.defra.gov.uk) has information about and advice on how to deal with fuel poverty.
The Department of Health has produced a number of leaflets:
These are available on the Department of Health website at www.dh.gov.uk.
You can obtain copies of our factsheets and publications by contacting Disability Alliance on 020 7247 8776 (this is not an advice line) or by fax on 020 7247 8765. All factsheets are available at www.disabilityalliance.org/fact.htm. All publications are available at www.disabilityalliance.org/shop.htm.
www.disabilityalliance.org - 28 May 2010
