Help with household bills

Budgeting advice, Household Support Fund payments, food banks, help with energy costs, broadband deals, and mortgage payment support.

YOUR money team

Our dedicated YOUR money team can help with even the most complex situations. They will ensure you are claiming all the benefits, grants, and discounts that you are entitled to. They can also give debt advice and help with budgeting.

Contact us for a free and confidential appointment:

Email: yourmoney@eastriding.gov.uk

The YOUR money team - more information

Budgeting tool

Our budgeting tool will help you create your own personal budget plan to help you take control of your finances.

Use our budgeting tool to find tips on how to:

  • reduce your expenses
  • maximise your income
  • pay off your debts
  • save for the future.

Budgeting tool

Household Support Fund

The government's Household Support Fund will help vulnerable households with the rising cost of energy bills and food. Grants will be awarded to eligible residents, by the council, from the fund.

Household Support Fund - eligibility criteria and more information

Healthy Homes

The Healthy Homes scheme can provide money to help with the cost of repairing or replacing your household's heating system. The scheme is available for both owner occupiers, and private tenants who are responsible for repairing the property's heating system.

You may be eligible for a Healthy Homes payment if someone in your household has a long-term health condition which is made worse by the cold or damp, and you are in receipt of any of the following benefits:

  • pension credit (guarantee)
  • Income Support
  • Employment and Support Allowance (income related)
  • Universal Credit
  • Working Tax or Child Tax Credit with a total household income less than £30,000.

Healthy Homes - more information and how to apply

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice provides comprehensive unbiased help and advice about a wide range of life situations and problems. They have specialist debt advisors who can provide free, specialist debt advice:

Citizens Advice - help with debt

Hull and East Riding Citizens Advice

Food banks

Food banks work with the local authority and other services, such as Citizens Advice, health services, or community charities, to provide food parcels for those most in need, in exchange for issued vouchers. Each food parcel contains a minimum of 3 days' worth of tinned and dried food.

Your local Children's Centre can help you access a food bank service:

Find your local Children's Centre

You can find your nearest food bank using the East Riding Food Poverty Alliance (ERFPA) map:

Find your nearest food bank on the ERFPA website

Broadband and home phone - social tariffs

A social tariff is a special low-cost deal for broadband. Some providers also include phone-only deals. Low income households, for example those receiving benefits such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit, could get reduced broadband and phone costs if their provider offers a social tariff.

Social tariffs providers

BT, KCOM, Now, and Sky, all offer social tariffs. BT offers a Home Essentials package, which includes a phone only option, and KCOM offers a Flex package. Ofcom provides a full list of social tariff providers:

Social tariff providers on the Ofcom website

Eligibility and how to apply

If you receive a means-tested state benefit, such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit, you are likely to be eligible for a social tariff, even if you are an existing customer.

Please note: different providers have different eligibility requirements. Some only offer social tariffs to Universal Credit recipients, while others extend eligibility to those on Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, and Employment and Support Allowance. Some providers also offer social tariffs to vulnerable households that receive non-means-tested benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment.

You will need to provide evidence of your eligibility, although BT can check directly with the Department for Work and Pensions as part of their online application process. You will also need to check whether the provider offers a social tariff service in your area, as this will depend on the provider's broadband coverage.

BT Home Essentials information and how to apply - BT website

Postcode checker - check broadband coverage on the KCOM website

Where can I access free wi-fi?

All East Riding of Yorkshire Council libraries offer free wi-fi and computer access. To make sure there is a computer available for you to use, you can pre-book your computer access. You will need your library card number and PIN to book:

Book a computer

Search for an East Riding library

Prescription costs - ways to save

Free prescriptions

You are eligible for free prescriptions if, at the time the prescription is dispensed, you are:

  • aged 60 or over
  • aged 15 or under
  • aged 16 to 18 and in full-time education
  • pregnant, or have had a baby in the previous 12 months, and have a valid maternity exemption certificate (MatEx)
  • an NHS inpatient

or if you have a valid:

  • war pension exemption certificate and the prescription is for your accepted disability
  • medical exemption certificate (MedEx).

You can also get free prescriptions if you are on certain benefits or are entitled to an NHS tax credit exemption certificate. To find out if you qualify for free prescriptions, use the NHS eligibility checker:

Eligibility checker for help with NHS costs, including prescriptions - NHS website

Free prescriptions information - NHS website

Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC)

If you are not eligible for free prescriptions you can reduce the cost if you need medication that is prescribed regularly, including dental medication. You can buy a Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC) in advance. If you need more than:

  • 3 prescribed items in 3 months, you can buy a 3 month PPC for £31.25
  • 11 prescribed items in a year, you can buy a 12 month PPC for £111.60

You can buy a PPC online:

Buy a Prescription Prepayment Certificate - NHS website

Energy and utilities

Energy efficiency at home

For advice on keeping your home warm, saving money on your fuel bills, and your eligibility for various energy efficiency grants, see our information on energy efficiency at home.

The government also offers energy savings advice, including getting ready for winter and energy conservation tips on GOV.UK.

YORSwitch

The YORSwitch scheme negotiates with the energy companies, on behalf of our residents, to provide a competitive price. This is done via an auction between the energy companies. The scheme also makes switching providers as simple as possible. No auctions are being held at the moment, due to the unstable market, but you can still register for the YORSwitch scheme. You will receive quarterly newsletters and be notified as soon as the next auction is arranged:

YORSwitch - more information and how to register

Warm Home Discount Scheme

The Warm Home Discount Scheme provides a one-off £150 discount on electricity bills. Your electricity supplier will apply this discount to your bill. The scheme for winter 2023 - 2024 opened on 16 October 2023.

You may be eligible for this payment if:

  • you receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit
  • you are on a low income.

To find out more and how to apply visit:

Warm Home Discount Scheme - more information on GOV.UK

Please note: this is not a council scheme.

Humber & Wolds Rural Action - help with heating oil costs

If you use oil as the main heating fuel for your home, you may be eligible for support from Humber & Wolds Rural Action (HWRA) toward the increasing cost. To see if you are eligible, and for details on how to apply, visit:

Humber & Wolds Rural Action website

Please note: after you have applied, HWRA will contact you to discuss how they might be able to help. They run this offer via the YORSwitch bulk oil buying scheme. HWRA will award grants to help towards the cost of heating oil to eligible East Riding residents. This will include free membership to the YORSwitch scheme for the first year (normally £20 per year).

WaterSure

WaterSure is a scheme that helps some people with their water bills. To be eligible, residents must be in receipt of benefits and need to use a lot of water, either for medical reasons or because their household has a certain number of school-age children.

Help paying your water bill - more information on Yorkshire Water website

Please note: this is not a council scheme.

Boiler upgrade scheme (BUS)

To encourage property owners to change to low carbon heating systems, the government is offering grants of up to £6000 towards installation costs:

Boiler Upgrade Scheme - more information on GOV.UK

Mortgage payment support

If you are struggling to pay your mortgage you should talk to your mortgage provider, to find out whether they can help.

If you are a homeowner, you might be able to get help towards interest payments from the Department for Work and Pensions on:

  • your mortgage
  • loans you've taken out for certain repairs and improvements to your home.

The Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) is paid as a loan. The loan is repayable, with interest, when you sell or transfer ownership of your home:

Find out more about Support for Mortgage Interest

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