An estimated 735,240 households, predominantly older individuals, were denied financial assistance for surging energy bills due to the alleged failure of a government-led

scheme, as asserted by a charity.

Age UK disclosed that the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) Alternative Fund, designed for households not directly linked to a domestic energy supplier (such as park homes or houseboats), left out these households, accounting for almost £3 million in unallocated support.

This fund, criticized earlier by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in a June report, was denounced for extending eligibility to such households only by the end of February, nearly five months after discounts were provided through the main scheme.

According to Freedom of Information data obtained by Age UK, approximately 17% of the government's estimated 883,000 eligible UK households with unique supply arrangements received the £400 energy support available this year.

The charity highlighted that many of those who were excluded were elderly individuals residing in park homes and care homes.

Moreover, the analysis of data from the Department of Energy, Security and Net Zero revealed that households located in regions with higher fuel poverty rates seemed less likely to access the funding.

In the South East, where fuel poverty is lowest, over a fifth (22%) of eligible households received funding. In contrast, only 13% of eligible households in the North East and London secured assistance.

Regarding successful funding recipients, Age UK reported that eligible care home residents had the lowest likelihood of accessing the support, with only 7% receiving the £400 energy aid. Meanwhile, around 35% of park home and houseboat residents and 58% of eligible heat network users successfully accessed the assistance.

While the government claimed to have allocated billions to shield families from winter price hikes and used various methods to communicate the scheme to eligible households, Age UK argued that the program had "completely flopped." The organization attributed this failure to a "time-consuming, complicated" application process that lacked adequate publicity.

The charity urged the government to reinvest the unused funds into the scheme and simplify the application process to boost participation.

Caroline Abrahams, Age UK's charity director, stated, "We call on the Government to do the right thing and improve the scheme so these older people get the money they are due." She emphasized the pressing need for financial assistance, especially given the anticipation of high energy bills during the upcoming winter.

In response, a government spokesperson emphasized their efforts to communicate the scheme to eligible households and recommended unapplied households visit their webpage to explore other available support. Photo by Philafrenzy, Wikimedia commons.