Help and advice to manage bills

Posted 25th February 2022

As the country is recovering from the pandemic, taxes and bills are rising which means the cost of living will be higher. Warwickshire County Council (WCC) has lots of support services to help residents with utility bills.

No one should have to choose between heating and eating, if you’re struggling to pay your bills, there are services in Warwickshire that can offer advice on how to save money on utility bills by making small changes. Act on Energy encourages energy conservation by providing free and impartial advice to householders in Warwickshire. They offer advice on how making changes to your energy usage can help to save money. For example, spending just one minute less in the shower could help you to save up to £17 a year and by just boiling as much water as you need for a cup of tea can save you up to £6 a year!

Another way to help save money would be to repair broken items rather than buying new ones. A great way to do this would be to visit a repair café. At the repair cafes, volunteers work with you to help you repair your broken items. It’s a really easy way to reuse the stuff you already have instead of buying more – saving you some money at the same time as well as helping to save the planet. 

If you’re still struggling even after making some of these changes, the council also has a Local Welfare Scheme which offers a one-off payment to families and households finding it difficult to pay for fuel. This is the second round of fuel support from the council following a promotion in November 2021 where over 10,000 vouchers were issued to people in need.

The support is being funded by the Department for Work and Pensions’ Household Support Fund, which supplements ongoing emergency support from the Local Welfare Scheme for residents in financial crisis. 

Sudden unexpected costs can create real challenges for many of us who are experiencing financial hardship. The Household Support Fund is available to provide short-term financial support to meet immediate needs and help those who are struggling to afford to pay for energy.

Families and households in Warwickshire can apply whether they use pre-payment meters, pay by direct debit or on receipt of an energy bill and applications for the payment, in the form of a voucher, must be made by 10 March 2022. Contact the Local Welfare Scheme team for a confidential discussion about their situation.

To find out more about the Local Welfare Scheme and the support available to you please call 0800 408 1448 or 01926 359182 to speak to an advisor in confidence, or visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/localwelfarescheme.

Learn more about the repair cafes in Kenilworth, Leamington Spa and Rugby.

Get advice from Act On Energy online at https://actonenergy.org.uk/

For more information about other financial support go to www.warwickshire.gov.uk/facinghardship.