EVERY bill-payer receiving means-tested benefits will now qualify for the Warm Home discount, the government confirmed on Wednesday evening.

The energy bill discount of up to £150 will be extended to 2.7 million households under the plans, bringing the total eligible to 6m.

End Fuel Poverty Coalition co-ordinator Simon Francis called the discount expansion a “welcome step.”

But he warned that the scheme “still leaves out some of those most at risk, including people with long-term health conditions, disabilities and those on non-means-tested benefits who often face the highest energy costs.”

“With bills still hundreds of pounds higher than in 2020, millions will continue to face unaffordable energy and cold, damp homes this winter.”

He went on to call for the introduction of a permanent social tariff to help vulnerable households.

National Energy Action (NEA) chief executive Adam Score similarly welcomed the move as “hugely positive,” but warned that the “lifeline itself is frayed and far from sturdy.”

He said: “The rebate has only increased by a meagre £10 during a period in which energy bills have gone up by £500 a year and there is no clarity on the programme beyond the end of March next year.”

“This announcement is good news for this winter, but the government needs to come up with a longer-term plan for providing deeper support in future for people who cannot afford a warm and healthy home.”

NEA estimates that 6.1m households across Britain are currently experiencing fuel poverty.