Get help paying your bills with targeted cost-of-living support

Nicole Ratcliffe lives in Manchester with her husband and their two young daughters (Julie Harris photography.co.uk)

Rising bills and the increasing price of many essential goods and services have put a strain on household budgets.

But even in challenging economic times, there is help at hand.

The government has stepped in to provide support for people across the country in a number of ways.

Over the past year, households received help with their energy bills, with most households automatically receiving £400 off between October 2022 and March 2023 to act as a cushion through the winter.

Households that have a traditional prepayment meter should have received vouchers, which need to be redeemed at a top-up point. These can be redeemed at a Post Office or PayPoint, with details indicated clearly on each voucher.

Vouchers expire after 90 days: if your voucher does expire, it can be reissued, but all vouchers must be redeemed by 30 June 2023.

Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Fund

Most households have received a £400 discount applied automatically by their electricity supplier between October 2022 and March 2023 to support them with their energy bills. Those households who did not receive the support automatically, as they do not have a domestic electricity supply, may be eligible to apply for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding until 31 May 2023. This includes partially or wholly self-funded care home residents, park home residents, and residents in housing associations. Search ‘energy bills alternative fund’ on GOV.UK or call 0808 175 3287 to check your eligibility

The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), which has been in place since October, has also protected customers from increases in energy costs by automatically limiting the amount you can be charged per unit of gas or electricity. The EPG has been extended at the same level until the end of June.

That means due to the Energy Price Guarantee and Energy Bills Support Scheme the government has covered around half of a typical household energy bill this winter, with a saving of around £1500 up until the end of June.

That is not all that is being done. Those on means tested benefits will automatically receive £900 in cost of living payments (split into three payments across the next 12 months). Additionally, automatic payments worth £150 for eligible disabled people will be paid in the summer and £150 for pensioners who usually receive Winter Fuel Payments in November.

And there are more than 40 schemes aimed at providing wider cost of living support. The government’s Help for Households website provides more information on these, as well as eligibility criteria.

Simple ways to lower your energy bills this summer

In addition to the support being offered by the government, there are many simple actions you can take that could help you lower your energy bills – from quick home improvements to easy lifestyle changes.

• Replacing your shower head and taking shorter showers could result in savings. Reducing shower length to 4 minutes will save water and money on energy bills. If someone’s water is metered, it will also save money on the water bill. Turning on ‘eco-mode’ for electric showers can also help. Energy efficient shower heads reduce the amount of water used in the shower by either regulating the flow or aerating the water. They can be purchased at any home improvement shop and fixed independently. Some water companies even provide them for free. Please note: They are not suitable for electric showers.
• Turning appliances off at the socket could save you up to £70 a year. Almost all electrical appliances in your home, such as computers, televisions, smart devices and video game consoles, draw power continuously unless unplugged. Turn off the power switch at the socket or unplug appliances from the socket when they are not in use.
• Washing clothes at a lower temperature could save you up to £40 a year. Modern washing machines can clean clothes effectively at lower temperatures. Changing from 40°C to 30°C means you could get 3 cycles instead of 2 using the same amount of energy, depending on your washing machine.
• Using your tumble dryer less could save you £70 a year. Tumble dryers are one of the most energy-intensive devices in the home. Use your tumble dryer less frequently by ensuring you have a full load, around three-quarters of the drum. Or use a clothes airer to dry clothes outside, or inside with a window open for ventilation. You should also avoid overfilling your dryer as this could lengthen the drying time. 
• Switching to energy saving lightbulbs could save you up to £55 a year. Standard or incandescent light bulbs are very inefficient. By switching to energy efficient bulbs, such as LEDs, you can save money on your energy bills while keeping your rooms well lit. LED lightbulbs also last longer than traditional bulbs, saving on maintenance costs.
• Servicing and maintaining your heating system. Ahead of next winter, there are actions you can take to make sure your heating system is in good health. Bleeding radiators, which helps to improve their efficiency and reduce energy consumption, finding and fixing draughts and reducing your boiler flow temperature to 60C all help.

By taking small and practical measures, individuals can significantly lower the cost of day-to-day life – and also reduce energy consumption.

Nicole Ratcliffe lives in Manchester with her husband and their two young daughters, aged seven and three. As well as support from government cost-of-living schemes, she has found a number of ways to keep the bills down.

“It seems silly to waste money to heat the house when you can put an extra layer on, and when it came to the girls I would just put a jumper on them, so they didn’t really notice,” she explains.

“We’re not really talking to them about saving money at their age and we want them to be comfortable, so we made a bit of a game of it, and all of us have our own blankets for snuggling up and watching TV. What’s funny now is that, as the warmer weather comes in and we don’t really need them, the girls still want ‘their’ blankets to cuddle up in.”

Smart meters are another way of keeping tabs on the energy bills. Nicole says: “We were really keen to get a smart meter, because we had no idea how much our bills would be, but it made sense to know what energy we were using and where to cut back as much as we could, especially over the winter when we might automatically put the heating on. It’s a good way of knowing exactly what you’re using, very quickly.”

Kirsty Devine, who lives in Halifax with her husband and son (Supplied)

Kirsty Devine, who lives in Halifax with her husband and 15-year-old son, has also found a combination of government support and making changes around the home is helping to keep the costs down.

“We fill up the washing machine before using it – we used to do half loads but once you realise each costs you, you fill it up! And we wash everything but towels and beddings at 30C,” she said.

“We used to use our tumble dryer all the time, but they cost so much so we bought an extra airer so we could spread the washing out and dry it quicker.”

Find out more about energy saving tips and the government support to help with the cost of living at gov.uk/helpforhouseholds