Warm Home discount
The Warm Home Discount Scheme has closed. It will reopen in October 2026. The Warm Home Discount Scheme is a one-off £150 discount off your electricity bill. If you’re eligible, your electricity supplier will apply the discount to your bill. The money is not paid to you.
What to do if you did not get your discount for winter 2025 to 2026: If you did not get your winter 2025 to 2026 discount, contact your electricity supplier if you missed the 31 March 2026 deadline and have confirmation you were eligible.
If your supplier cannot help, you can write to the Warm Home Discount Scheme with your details and reference number. You should include your name, address and date of birth, the reference number from your confirmation letter if you have one, the name of your electricity supplier and your account number, and the name of the person on the electricity bill on 24 August 2025 if that is different to yours. Warm Home Discount Scheme, PO Box 970, Preston, PR2 0FX.
Visit the Gov.uk page to see the policy details in full.
Cold weather payment
For the 2025–2026 winter season, the Cold Weather Payment scheme applied to people receiving eligible benefits. Payments were made automatically, and there was no need to apply.
You would have received a payment if the average temperature in your area was recorded as, or forecast to be, 0°C or below for seven consecutive days. A payment of £25 was made for each qualifying seven-day period of very cold weather between 1 November 2025 and 31 March 2026.
As of today, the UK Government has not announced any changes to the Cold Weather Payment scheme for England and Wales for the 2026–2027 winter season. This page will be updated as soon as further information becomes available. Visit the Gov.uk page to see the policy details in full.
Winter fuel payment
If you were born before 28 June 1960 you could get between £100 and £300 to help you pay your heating bills for winter 2026 to 2027. This is known as a ‘Winter Fuel Payment’.
Most people get the Winter Fuel Payment automatically if they’re eligible.
If you’re eligible, you’ll receive a letter in October or November saying how much you’ll get.
Most eligible people will be paid in November or December 2026.
If your total income is over £35,000, HMRC will take your Winter Fuel Payment back. Your partner’s income does not count towards your total. Visit the Gov.uk page to see the policy details in full.
Emergency Fuel Help
Bradford Council has a limited fund that may be able to provide emergency help with prepayment fuel meter top ups. If you have a prepayment meter, please ensure you have contacted your energy supplier to see if they can help.
This information from Citizens Advice may be useful. If you pay for your fuel on a normal meter (one that lets you pay for energy after you use it rather than before) you should contact your fuel supplier to ask for help.
Useful links
Bradford & District: Warm Homes Healthy People (WHHP)
Staying warm and comfortable in your home is important. Many factors affect how cold a home is and this poses risks in terms of associated health problems. They include how well your home is insulated, how efficient your heating system is, how much you can afford to heat your home and your susceptibility to illness.
The WARM HOMES HEALTHY PEOPLE partners provide free independent energy advice for those living in the Bradford District area. The aims, to save you money and keep you warm. We install small energy efficiency measures and offer support and advice on energy bills. We also provide emergency support and help you with debt and benefits checks. Visit the groundworks/WHHP page to see the policy details in full. To make a referral for yourself or someone else please visit the Groundworks website
Useful links
Crisis and Resilience Fund
The Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) replaces the Household Support Fund which ended on 31 March 2026. This is a UK Government funded grant for the Bradford district for the period 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029.
The CRF will be used to help people experiencing a sudden, unexpected financial shock or loss of income, whilst also helping with longer term financial resilience through greater access to welfare and debt advice across the district.
We are now designing our local scheme to ensure that it meets the needs of our residents, and we will bring new initiatives into the programme during 2026-27.
We will keep you informed about progress and we will add more details to this webpage as further details emerge including who is eligible and how to apply. Visit the Bradford.gov.uk page for more details.
Useful Links
Help Paying for your childcare
TAX-FREE CHILDCARE – GET UP TO £2000 PER CHILD
For working families, including the self-employed, in the UK
Earning under £100k and at least £195.36 per week (equal to 16 hours at the National Minimum or Living Wage) each.
Who aren’t receiving Tax Credits, Universal Credit or childcare vouchers
With children aged 0-11 (or 0-16 if disabled, eligibility criteria apply)
For every £8 you pay into an online account, the government will add an extra £2, up to £2,000 per child per year.
30 Hours FUNDED Childcare for 9 month to 4 year olds – key details
- For families in England, where you (and your partner if you have one) are both in work and earn over £195.36 per week
- With 9 month to 4-year-old children
- 30 hours of funded childcare or early education for 38 weeks
- To be able to take up 30 hours of free childcare for your 9 month to 4-year-old you or your child must meet the eligibility criteria. Please visit Best Start in Life for further information.
- A total of 1,140 hours per year, that you can use with one or two childcare providers
- Some providers will allow you to ‘stretch’ the hours over 52 weeks, using fewer hours per week (roughly 22 hours per week stretched)
- A surcharge may apply in some settings
Find out more about similar schemes in Scotland, Wales / Cymru, and Northern Ireland
Useful Links
Bradford council support
Assisted Purchase Scheme
You may be able to get support purchasing essential household goods such as beds, electric cookers, fridge freezers, microwaves and washing machines.
You must be in receipt of eligible benefits and meet other eligibility criteria.
NOTE: this is a low-cost loan which is interest free.
Helping low-income households with energy and food costs
There will be a payment issues by December 2025 to all households who are in receipt of Council Tax Reduction. The amount of the award and date of issue is still to be determined.
There is no application process – they will work out from Council Tax records who is eligible and send the money automatically.
Useful links
Check eligibility and apply
Bradford Council Assisted Purchase Scheme
Help with Household Support Costs
Bradford Council
Applying for Universal Credit
What Universal Credit is?
Universal Credit is a payment to help with your living costs. It’s usually paid once a month.
You may be able to get it if you’re on a low income, out of work or you cannot work. If you already get other benefits
Universal Credit replaces the following benefits:
- Housing Benefit
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
How much you will get depends on various circumstances such as age, relationship status, whether you have any children, whether you care for somebody, your childcare costs, if you have a disability or health condition, and any housing costs you may have.
This will also depend on any applicable deductions.
Apply for a Universal Credit advance or hardship payment
If you need help to pay your bills or cover other costs before you get your first Universal Credit payment, you can apply to get an advance.
The amount you can get depends on your circumstances. The most you can get is the amount of your first estimated payment. Visit the Gov.uk page to see the policy details in full.
Useful links
Use a benefits calculator to check what you could get
Citizens Advice Help to Claim Service
Citizens Advice
Alternative payment arrangements
If you’re facing financial issues that are affecting your ability to manage your money, and/or you are are in arrears with your rent, the Department for Work and Pensions may be able to offer an Alternative Payment Arrangements.
This means they could pay housing costs of Universal Credit directly to your landlord, offering payments more frequently than monthly, or splitting payment between partners.
Useful links
Alternative Payment Arrangements
Gov.uk