Are you struggling to top up your electric meter, pay your heating bill or buy oil? Is your home cold? Support is available for you.
Lincolnshires warm home teams want to ensure you have access to the most appropriate and effective support and information, therefore each service has tailored their support offer.
To find the right service for you click on the tabs below.
Citizens Advice Bureau
CAB provide local support to individuals across Lincolnshire, with centres in based within the local community. If an individual is struggling to afford their energy bills or top up their prepayment meter there is help available.
The team can:
- Support individuals with no heating, those who will soon be unable to pay for heating and those concerned about their heating bills.
- Check if the individual is entitled to a fuel voucher
- Check if something is an energy scam
- Support individuals reliant on other heating sources and unable to pay - including oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), coal or wood
- Support individuals who are not on the gas grid
- Check Priority Services Register eligibility and support with sign up
- Support individuals who pay their landlord for energy - ensuring the individual also benefits from an discounts the landlord may have received.
- Identify and support applications for grants to help pay off energy debt
- Grants for energy-saving home improvements - Individuals might be able to get help with the cost of things like insulation, a new boiler or improvements to their heating.
- Locate and apply for local energy grants - including Warm Home Discounts, Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments.
-
Support individuals using an Oxygen Concentrator - if one is needed an individual can get money back for their electricity usage, every 3 months.
To learn more about CAB, click here.
Age UK Warm & Wise
Warm & Wise offers individuals free, impartial, and confidential energy advice. Eligible service users will be aged 50 and over and live in Lincoln or South Lincolnshire.
The service offers support with:
- Home energy assessments,
- Tariff switching advice,
- Help applying for warm home discounts,
- Energy saving advice,
- Instillation of free energy saving devices, and much more.
Website: click here.
Contact: 03455 564144 extension 1240 or email, warmandwise@ageuklsl.org.uk.
Home Energy Advice and Retrofit Team
The service provides in person, impartial energy efficiency advice to people living in East Lindsey.
The team offer advice and support for:
- Assistance with fuel bills,
- Support with metre readings,
- Information of Priority Service Registers,
- Information on energy saving methods,
- Heating related home improvements and possible grant sourcing,
- Information on cheaper tariffs.
HEART also offer support for those in a temporary or sudden no-heat situation. They will send out electric heaters with timers and control panels for short term assistance, alongside a prepaid energy card, whether that is for prepayment metres or credit accounts, to assist with the running costs so that it’s not incurred by the household.
Website: click here.
Contact: 01507 613189 or email, heart@e-lindsey.gov.uk.
Age UK Safe & Warm Homes
The team aim to provide free information, advice, and energy-saving products to ensure individuals have warm and safe homes.
If you are over 65, live in a cold home or are living with cancer or another long-term health condition, you may be eligible for support from the Safe & Warm Homes team. This service provides free access to trained Safe & Warm Homes Officers, who will discuss your home energy needs and install free energy saving equipment, such as light bulbs and reflective radiator panels, within the home.
The team will also carry out a free benefits entitlement check to see if there are any grants or additional funding streams you may be entitled too.
Website: click here.
Contact: 01507 524242 or email, info@ageuklindsey.co.uk
National Energy Action
The service offers free support and advice to individuals regarding their energy bills and keeping warm and safe in their home.
The team provide information and advice for:
- Help with benefits advice,
- Income meximisation,
- Debt reduction,
- Grants and funding streams,
- Switching suppliers,
- Identification of Priority Service Registers and help to sign up,
- Energy saving tips,
- Home improvement grants - heating specific,
- and more.
Website: click here.
Contact: 0800 304 7159
Green Doctor
Green Doctor is a free service to all in Lincolnshire.
It is particularly helpful for people who are having trouble paying their energy bills, keeping warm and healthy, and those who are living in a home that is suffering from cold, damp, mould or leaks. The team can help individuals save energy, reduce bills, identify and tackle issues like damp and mould, and install energy-saving items in their home.The Green Doctor can also support with energy debts, switching providers, and applying for energy grants for increased home insulation, boiler replacement, and more.
The service is free of charge.
Referrals can be made via the form, on the website or by contacting the team.
Contact: 01559 788212 or email, enquiries
Website: https://
Cancer Team Support
Your Cancer Team are able to provide signposting to warm homes support. If you are concerned about staying warm this winter and require support, please speak to your Cancer Nurse Specialist, Cancer Care Co-Ordinator or one of Lincolnshire's Macmillan Information & Support Centres.
Remember:
Anyone living with cancer is entitled to a
free welfare and benefits assessment.
There are additional funds and grants available to individuals within Lincolnshire, who are struggling to pay their heating bills. The services listed above will be able to support you with information on these, however you can also learn more by visiting the links below.
Household Support Fund
Financial support provided by Lincolnshire County Council. This grant is awarded to those most in need and this eligibility criteria is decided by each local council.
To find out if you are eligible for the fund click here.
Discretionary Housing Payment
This fund is available to individuals requiring additional assisatance with their housing costs, who are in receipt of Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit.
To learn more click here.
Winter Fuel Payment
Individuals born before 23 September 1958, could get either £200 or £300 to help with the payment of heating bills for winter 2024 to 2025. Eligiblility is age and benefit based. Individuals should receive a letter of confirmation in October or November 2024, however if you think you are eligible and do not receive this individuals are encouraged to contact, 0800 731 0160.
More information can be accessed by clicking here.
Warm Home Discount
The Warm Home Discount Scheme is a one-off £150 discount off your electricity bill. This will be automatically be deducted from your bill. Eligible individuals will be in receipt of either the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit or be on a low income and have high energy costs.
To learn more, click here.
Access Warm Safe Places
Warm Spaces have been created to support Lincolnshire residents through the colder months, providing a safe environment to keep warm. Residents can gather, socialise, enjoy a book, have a hot drink, and know that there is always a place for them to feel safe.
There are numerous Warm Spaces across the county many of which can be found via the integrative map, which can be accessed by clicking here.
If you can’t find a centre, it may be that your council hasn’t signed up to the website, but they’re still providing this service. By clicking on your council you will find additional Warm Space: East Lindsey, Boston, South Holland.
Alongside services which are focused on supporting individuals with heating concerns, there are services offering other forms of support.
Night Light Cafes
Night Light Cafés are safe spaces that offer an out-of-hours, non-clinical support service and are staffed by teams of trained volunteers who are available to listen. They can also provide signposting advice and information on other organisations that may be able to help with specific needs, such as debt advice or emergency food parcels.
Website: click here.
Wellbeing Lincs
Wellbeing Lincs aims to support people in addressing their support needs in order to help them to live confident and independent lives. The team provide short-term support to ensure they feel safe in their own home, engage them in community services, and reduce or prevent the escalation of an individual's needs. The team will signpost to other services, help people to resettle at home following discharge from hospital care, supply small aids*, equipment* and home adaptations* and receive and respond to calls from telecare customers*.
* charges may apply
Website: click here.
Contact: 01522 782140