Warm Home Discount extended until 2031

The scheme currently supports people on low incomes and those receiving the guarantee credit element of Pension Credit. However, fewer than 100,000 Scottish households have been receiving the discount automatically, with most required to apply through their supplier.

From next year, the UK Government expects around 345,000 households in Scotland to receive the payment without applying, bringing the system into line with England and Wales. Ministers have also confirmed the scheme will continue for the next five winters, running until 2030–31.

Energy consumers minister Martin McCluskey said the changes would remove barriers that had prevented many eligible households from accessing support. He said families “deserve automatic access to energy bill support when they need it most” and that the extension would give millions “peace of mind” for the rest of the decade.

Consumer Scotland chief executive Sam Ghibaldan welcomed the five‑year extension and the shift to automatic payments, calling it “positive news for the many households that rely on the discount”. He noted that automatic eligibility had been one of the organisation’s key recommendations.

However, Ghibaldan warned that significant issues remain, including “cliff‑edge” eligibility that excludes households just outside the criteria, and the flat‑rate nature of the discount, which does not reflect higher essential energy use, for example among people with complex medical needs. He also urged the government to consider support for off‑grid and heat‑network customers.

He said fundamental reform is still required, including better‑targeted criteria that take account of energy consumption, efficiency, disability, medical needs, rurality and families with young children.

Citizens Advice Scotland also responded to the announcement. Energy spokesperson Molly Shevlin said thousands of people across Scotland continue to face impossible choices between heating and debt, describing the situation as “unacceptable” and evidence that the energy market “is broken and needs radical reform”.

She welcomed the extension of the Warm Home Discount but stressed it “isn’t anywhere near enough” to address the scale of hardship. CAS is calling for measures such as a social tariff to reduce bills for those most in need and a compassionate scheme to write off unmanageable energy debt.

Shevlin urged governments, regulators and energy companies to deliver solutions that provide long‑term stability and genuinely affordable energy for households.