The Individuals and Families Fund is run by the British Gas Energy Trust charity and can be accessed by struggling people living in England, Scotland and Wales
British Gas has is giving struggling households grants up to £1,500 to help with their energy bill debts – and you don’t need to be a customer.
The Individuals and Families Fund can be accessed by people living in England, Scotland and Wales if you’ve fallen behind on your bills. It reopened for new applications on December 4 and is expected to close at the end of March 2024.
The scheme is run by the British Gas Energy Trust, which is an independent charity, funded by British Gas. To access the support, you need to have energy debt of up to £1,500 and you must have previously received help from a money advice agency in the past three months.
The grants will go to people who are looking to clear an outstanding debt on their current energy account, and British Gas says the fund is for people who cannot get help from their own energy supplier. Suppliers that run their own support fund include: Boost, Eon, Eon Next, EDF, Scottish Power, Ovo, Octopus, SSE and Utilita.
You won’t be eligible for help from British Gas if you have already received a grant from the British Gas Energy Trust within the last two years. If you’re a British Gas customer, your balance will be verified with British Gas as part of the application process and if it exceeds the arrears threshold of £1,500, your application will be declined.
It comes as energy bills rose again today, with the Ofgem price cap increasing from £1,834 a year to £1,928. But it is important to remember there isn’t a total cap on what you can pay for energy.
The Ofgem price cap sets a limit on what suppliers can charge for each unit of gas and electricity you use, as well as the standing charges. This means your bill will be higher the more energy you use.
Jessica Taplin, British Gas Energy Trust chief executive, said: “You are not alone. For almost 20 years, the British Gas Energy Trust has been helping people across Britain avoid the detrimental impact of poverty by focusing on eliminating fuel poverty. Our support includes energy debt grants, small emergency energy grants, and we fund 45 money and energy advice charities, that offer in person confidential support in England, Scotland and Wales to help people maximise their household budget.
“Debt and money stresses are debilitating, which is why we are delighted to be offering British Gas Energy Trust funded money and energy advisers in Post Offices across the country to help people access independent holistic support, so they feel more confident to manage their personal circumstances moving forward.”
