When it comes to managing household finances, energy bills can be a significant expense. Alongside high energy costs and unpredictable weather conditions, keeping your home warm and comfortable can quickly become difficult.

As a response to anxiety around energy bills, last year the UK Government introduced the Energy Bills Support Scheme. Those who are eligible receive a £400 discount to help with their energy bill. The Government also price capped energy bills at an average £2,500 until July 2023, however, many are still struggling.

To combat this, many local governments across the country stepped up to provide support and relief to their residents in terms of home cover, including the maintenance and replacement of boilers.

If you’re interested in learning more about how your local government supported residents, we’ll explore some of the most helpful local councils in the UK.

We’ll also highlight the various schemes and programs they offered to support their resident’s energy needs as well as valuable information and resources to help you save money and live sustainably.

1 - Cornwall

County: South West

Payments delivered per 100,000 people: 225,451

Cornwall takes first place as the most helpful local authority having delivered a total of 225,451 payments per 100,000 people from October 2022 to February 2023 for the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

On its government site, Cornwall also lists several useful resources supporting rising energy costs. This includes additional information on extra financial help such as the warm home discount scheme offering a one-of payment of £150.

2 - Dorset

County: South West

Payments delivered per 100,000 people: 212,666

Dorset follows behind with an estimated 212,666 payments delivered per 100,000 people. Those in receipt of the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding received a payment of £400. According to Dorset’s Council, this includes residents living in park homes, houseboats or off the electricity grid among other factors.

3 - Brighton and Hove

County: South East

Payments delivered per 100,000 people: 211,802

Brighton and Hove’s local authority completes the top three of the most helpful local governments with a total of 211,802 payments delivered per 100,000 people.

According to the local government’s website, metered users and ‘smart’ prepayment users received a discount of £66/67 applied by their energy suppliers as part of the government's Energy Bills Support Scheme.

1 - Westminster

Payments delivered per 100,000 people: 282,724

A well-known London borough and a government area close to Buckingham Palace,  Westminster takes first place with the most number of payments delivered per 100,000 people.

Not only did Westminster deliver an estimated 282,724 payments as of February 2023 but the local authority provides additional information for households. This useful information highlights a £400 financial assistance for residents on their gas and electricity bills.

2 - Kensington and Chelsea

Payments delivered per 100,000 people: 281,381

Kensington and Chelsea follow behind having delivered approximately 281,381 payments per 100,000 people.

The London borough has a lot of helpful information on its website about how residents can be supported with their energy bills amid the cost of living crisis. This includes eligibility for benefits such as £300 for people on an eligible low-income benefit or in a pensioner household.

3 - Camden

Payments delivered per 100,000 people: 231,660

Camden makes it into the top three having delivered 231,660 payments per 100,000 people through the Energy Bills Support Scheme which ended last month. To add to this, the London borough also offers additional information on energy rebates which highlights a sum of £150 which could be credited to each recipient’s Council Tax account.

Although direct debit, credit or debit card, and smart prepayment meters are among the most popular ways to pay for energy bills, UK households with a traditional prepayment meter receive the Government’s Energy Bills Support as vouchers.

These vouchers can be redeemed at a PayPoint or Post Office, where your energy key will be topped up to the value of the voucher. In some cases you can redeem the cash value of the voucher, which must be paid towards your energy bill.

1 - Manchester

County: North West

Vouchers issued per 100,000 people: 24,156

A popular city in the North West of England, Manchester tops the list as the most helpful local government when it comes to the number of vouchers issued to households with a traditional prepayment meter. Just between October 2022 and February 2023, an estimated 24,156 vouchers were issued per 100,000 people, helping residents with their energy bills.

2 - Liverpool

County: North West

Vouchers issued per 100,000 people: 23,194

Next up is Liverpool with a total of 23,194 vouchers issued per 100,000 people. The vouchers were issued to those who pay their energy bill in an alternative way from the usual direct debit, credit or debit card, and smart prepayment meter. This maritime city also offers additional information on discounts and supports available to residents on their energy bills. 

For instance, the local authority’s site also provides information on the Warm Home Discount which could get eligible households a discount of up to £140 on their electricity bill.

3 - Kingston upon Hull

County: North West

Vouchers issued per 100,000 people: 22,791

A port city in East Yorkshire, Kingston upon Hull completes the top three with a total of 22,791 vouchers issued per 100,000 people. These vouchers are issued to those households who have a traditional prepayment meter.

Like other local governments, Kingston upon Hull provides additional information on the support residents can receive through the Energy Bills Support Scheme on their site. This includes a one-off £200 non-repayable payment to eligible households who use alternative fuels as their main form of heating.

1 - Hackney

Vouchers issued per 100,000 people: 38,110 

Hackney takes the top spot as the most helpful government when it comes to issuing the most vouchers. As of February 2023, approximately 38,110 vouchers had been issued per 100,000 people through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

In addition to this, the local authority’s site states that residents can also receive a payment of £200 by applying for the Alternative Fuel Payment Alternative Fund. This grant is given to those who use alternative fuels for heating their home instead of gas such as biomass or heating oil.

2 - Southwark

Vouchers issued per 100,000 people: 36,599

Southwark takes second place having issued a total of 36,599 vouchers per 100,000 people as of February 2023.

Alongside offering extra help on energy bills through the Energy Bills Support Scheme, the local authority also offers additional information on extra grants and benefits. This includes home improvement funding which offers a grant of up to £25,000 to help you improve your home but save on energy bills.

3 - Lambeth

Vouchers issued per 100,000 people: 31,043

Ranked in third place is Lambeth with a total of 31,043 vouchers issued per 100,000 people. 

According to the local authority’s website, the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding requires no direct relationship to a domestic energy supplier to receive the one-off £400 non-repayable discount on their fuel bills. However, residents must apply to receive this grant.

1 - Heathrow

County: London

Estimated eligible recipients: 545,000

Ranking in first place is Heathrow with 545,000 estimated eligible recipients of cold weather payments. Due to the UK’s unpredictable weather, the Cold Weather Payments scheme will start in November, offering support to residents whenever the average temperature is recorded or forecast to be at zero degrees Celsius or below for more than seven consecutive days.

2 - Coleshill

County: Warwickshire

Estimated eligible recipients: 294,000

Located in the region of Warwickshire, Coleshill comes in second place as one of the locations most likely to offer Cold Weather Payments to its residents, starting from November.

These payments will be issued to eligible residents who are on state benefits in the event of particularly cold weather in the winter. It is estimated that there are 294,000 eligible recipients for this payment in Coleshill.

3 - Rostherne

County: Cheshire

Estimated eligible recipients: 206,000

Rostherne follows behind with 206,000 estimated eligible recipients of cold weather payments. The Rostherne local government offers a lot of information on financial support to its residents to help heat their homes.

Alongside providing information on Cold Weather Payments, additional information on the Warm Home Discount Scheme and receiving help from your energy supplier is also provided to help residents with their electricity bills.

1 - Heathrow

County: London

Estimated eligible recipients of Pension Credit: 180,000

Heathrow ranks in first place as the top location to receive cold weather payments for a pensioner. Heathrow had an estimated 180,000 recipients of the 2022-23 Cold Weather Payment who are eligible recipients of Pension Credit.

2 - Cardinham (Bodmin)

County: Cornwall

Estimated eligible recipients of Pension Credit: 95,000

Cardinham follows behind with an estimated 95,000 recipients of Pension Credit. Those eligible for Cold Weather Payments receive £25 extra a week during the winter.

3 - Shawbury

County: Shropshire

Estimated eligible recipients of Pension Credit: 61,000

Shawbury ranks in third place with an estimated 61,000 eligible recipients of Pension Credit. In addition to this payment, the Winter Fuel Payment can also provide extra support to pensioners as it is a tax-free benefit to help pay for heating during winter.

Methodology 

Using the population estimates for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland from ONS, we looked at the 50 most populated local authorities to find out which were the most helpful local governments in the UK.

All information regarding the number of payments delivered and vouchers issued by each local authority was taken from The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy: Energy Bills Support Scheme GB: payments made by electricity suppliers to customers and figures are from October 2022 to February 2023.

This data was then calculated per 100,000 people using the estimates of the population from ONS to normalise the figures.

Data for the Cold Weather Payments section were also taken from The Department for Work and Pensions: Cold Weather Payment estimates: 2022 to 2023 and were based on 2022-2023.

Extra information on grants and schemes was taken from each local authority’s government website.

Data collection was completed on 02/05/2023.