Help with household bills

Budgeting advice, the Crisis and Resilience Fund, 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

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

Use the budgeting tool to find tips on how to:

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

Money Helper: Budget planner

Benefits calculators

You can use independent, free and anonymous benefits calculators to check what you could be entitled to. This will give you an estimate of:

  • the benefits you could get
  • how much your benefit payments could be
  • how your benefits will be affected if you start work or increase your hours
  • how your benefits will be affected if your circumstances change - for example, if you have a child or move in with your partner.

Crisis and Resilience Fund

The Crisis and Resilience Fund is a government scheme that started on 1 April 2026. It helps people on low incomes who have sudden money problems. It can also help stop problems happening again.

Crisis and Resilience Fund

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

Yorkshire Energy Doctor

The Yorkshire Energy Doctor offers independent advice and support to households about:

  • energy bills
  • energy efficiency
  • ways to stay safe, warm and well.

Because every household is different, they offer one-to-one support that takes into account your own circumstances, problems, or issues you are facing.

They can provide free help and advice on:

  • understanding your energy bills and prices
  • payment options
  • energy costs and energy debts
  • ongoing problems with an energy supplier or billing
  • ways to reduce water costs
  • general ways to reduce energy use in the home.

Yorkshire Energy Doctor (external website)

Food

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

Healthy Start vouchers

The Healthy Start scheme helps families buy healthy food and milk. If you qualify, you’ll receive a prepaid card to spend on fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk, and infant formula.

You may be eligible for Healthy Start if you are pregnant or have a child under 4-years-old and you receive:

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Universal Credit (with a family income of £408 or less per month after tax)
  • Pension Credit (if responsible for a child under 4).

Not on benefits?

You can still qualify if you are under 18 and pregnant, even if you do not receive any benefits.

Healthy Start Vouchers – more information and how to apply

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

Free mobile and data SIMs to pick up in East Riding Libraries

Apply for a free SIM card and mobile data

The National Databank from the Good Things Foundation provides free mobile SIM cards to help people get connected. Residents can get free Vodafone, O2 and 3 Network SIM cards for calling their family and friends or going online.

To be eligible residents must be:

  • 18+ years old and from a low income household and/or
  • have no access or insufficient access to the Internet at home and/or
  • have no or insufficient access to the Internet when away from home and/or
  • cannot afford their existing monthly contract or top-up.

If they meet the above eligibility criteria they can apply for a free SIM card which can be collected from any East Riding library.

Disclaimer: East Riding of Yorkshire Council reserves the right to deny access to the National Databank if you don't meet the essential criteria. If there are any suspected incidents of fraud or misuse, we will report it to Good Things Foundation and withdraw your access.

Apply for a free SIM card and mobile data

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.

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.

You may be eligible for this payment if you:

  • receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit
  • 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).

If you use oil to heat your home, business or community building, please join our Oil Buying Cooperative. For just £20 per year, the cooperative orders oil and negotiates the cheapest price with a group of oil suppliers.

Humber & Wolds Rural Action - Oil Buying Cooperative

Yorkshire Water

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.

WaterSupport

A bill cap scheme for low income households. You might be eligible if you have a household income below £19,000 and your annual water bill is more than £364. Households with dependent children, or larger occupancies, may be eligible for additional income allowance.

Community Trust

A debt support scheme for customers who have have arrears with Yorkshire Water between £50 and £2000 and at least one priority debt.

Water Direct

A debt support scheme for customers who receive a deductible income-based benefit. We can take payments directly from your benefits. Less hassle, less worry!

Resolve

A debt support scheme for customers who are struggling to catch up on previous water bills. Our Resolve scheme could help you be debt-free so you can continue paying your water bill in affordable amounts.

Please note: these are not council schemes.

For more information on this help go to:

Yorkshire Water - Help paying your bill (external website)

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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