Income-based support versus money off energy bills for fuel poverty support

The Panel has had a consistent interest in the best ways to provide fuel poverty support. To support their understanding of the issues involved, they consulted stakeholders to explore the evidence on income-based support versus money off energy bills for fuel poverty support.

Analysis on Cash First vs Money Off Bills – Final.pdf

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Endnotes

[1] Scottish Government (2021) Fuel Poverty Strategy Analytical Annex

[2] Scottish Government (2023) Ministerial Foreword – Cash-First – towards ending the need for food banks in Scotland: plan – gov.scot

[3] All Party Parliamentary Group on Ending the eed for Food Banks (2023) Cash or food? Exploring effective responses to destitution | Trussell

[4] Ibid

[5] Scottish Government (2022) Ending the need for food banks – draft plan: consultation analysis – gov.scot

[6] Ibid

[7] Scottish Government (2023) Ministerial Foreword – Cash-First – towards ending the need for food banks in Scotland: plan – gov.scot

[8] Scottish Government (2025) Cash-First Programme: interim evaluation – updated – gov.scot

[9] Ibid

[10] As will be discussed in more detail in  section 3.2.3, SFHA point out that cash first for poverty alleviation needs to be considered differently if the objective is to tackle fuel poverty specifically.

[11] HACT (2024) Fuel_suppport_fund_v2.pdf

[12] Centre for Homelessness Impact (2025) Groundbreaking study begins to reveal how £2,000 grant helps people escape homelessness

[13] Timothy K.M. Beatty, Laura Blow, Thomas F. Crossley, Cormac O’Dea (2014), ‘Cash by any other name? Evidence on labelling from the UK Winter Fuel Payment’, Journal of Public Economics, 118

[14] Viola Angelini, Michael Daly, Mirko Moro, Maria Navarro Paniagua, Elanor Sidman, Ian Walker, Matthew Weldon (2019) ‘The effect of the Winter Fuel Payment on household temperature and health: a regression discontinuity design study’, Public Health Res, 7(1)

[15] Winter is coming: Can a labelled cash transfer increase household fuel spending and well-being? Evidence from the UKHLS using the Winter Fuel Payment – Understanding Society Scientific Conference 2025

[16] Scottish Government (2021) Supporting documents – Universal Credit Scottish choices: evaluation – gov.scot

[17] Ibid

[18] It should be noted that from next winter (2026/2027) those in Scotland who are in receipt of qualifying benefits and meet certain other conditions, such as having a child under five or getting a disability-related uplift as part of your benefit, will be eligible for automatic payment of WHD.

[19] Karen Turner, Antonios Katris, Long Zhou, Hannah Corbett (2024) Addressing fuel poverty: what are the relative benefits of public spending on direct bill support or energy efficiency? – Energy Demand Research Centre

[20] Ibid

[21] Scottish Government (2025) Scottish House Condition Survey: 2023 Key Findings – gov.scot

[22] In November 2025, Ofgem published proposals for a Debt Relief Scheme will work to provide one-time debt relief for households in payment difficulty, who accrued debt during the energy crisis.

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