Storage Heater Grants 2017 – Changes to qualifying criteria

Pension Credit

Before 1st April 2017 both Savings Pensions Credit and Guaranteed Pension Credit were included in the qualifying criteria.

From 1st April 2017 only Guaranteed Pensions Credit is included.

Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit

Before 1st April 2017 applicants for Storage Heater Grants with Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit had to have an annual household income of less than £16,010.

From 1st April 2017 the maximum household income threshold was amended to account for the number of adults and children in the home. The income thresholds now range from £13,200 to £36,600.

Universal Credit

Before 1st April 2017 applicants for Storage Heater Grants who received Universal Credit also had to have a monthly net earned income of less than £1,250 within any assessment period in the last 12 months.

After 1st April 2017 the earned income thresholds were amended to take account of the number of adults and children living in the property. The income thresholds range from £1,000 to £3,050.

Income-Based State Benefits

These include Income Support, Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance and Income-related Employment & Support Allowance. Before 1st April 2017 additional secondary qualifying criteria had to be satisfied but these were removed.

More information about Storage Heater Grants 2017 Qualifying Criteria can be found HERE.

Storage Heater Grants 2017 – Changes to calculation of grants

The amount of your storage heater grant is based on the reduction in carbon emissions achieved by removing inefficient storage heaters and installing modern, energy efficient heaters. The greater the reduction the higher the grant.

Before 1st April 2017 the measurement of the potential reduction in carbon emissions was based on an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) for the property. This measures the current energy efficiency of the property, which is compared the calculated future energy efficiency.

After 1st April 2017 the need for an EPC was removed and properties were classified according to the type, size, number of bedrooms and how well they are insulated. This was supposed to simplify the process but in fact it now means that smaller properties such as flats receive lower grants. This means that the applicant normally has to contribute towards the cost of replacing their storage heaters because the grants are insufficient.

Storage Heater Grants 2017 – Changes to the emphasis placed on types of heating system 

Before 1st April 2017 there were far more ECO Grants awarded to replace gas boilers than all other heating system types added together.

From 1st April 2017 funding to replace gas boilers was drastically reduced. Now there are very few applicants for grants to replace gas boilers who succeed. With regard to heating systems, most of the ECO Funding is reserved to replace electric storage heaters, oil-fired central heating boilers and LPG boilers.

When the changes to Storage Heater Grants 2017 were introduced on 1st April, the ECO Scheme was set to run until September 2018.

That provided 18 months within which to carry out a consultation about the shape of any future ECO Scheme. Current proposals are to extend the ECO Scheme by a further 3 or 4 years but with a greater emphasis on dealing with fuel poverty.

Help to Heat Scheme

The anticipated new name for the scheme is the Help to Heat Scheme. There will probably be further changes to the qualifying criteria to ensure that households suffering the greatest fuel poverty are helped the most.

There is also the possibility that the scheme will end, although the Government will need to find a new way to reduce carbon emissions from the UK’s housing stock. This is because the Government has signed up to legally binding reductions in carbon emissions across the country.

Storage Heater Grants 2018 could look very different to Storage Heater Grants 2017