Eligibility
Eligibility
Find out if you're eligible
Anyone can contact Connect for Help and there are no eligibility requirements for a FREE initial telephone assessment by our Energy Advice Team.
If we identify that a household will likely benefit from an in-depth energy advice or income maximisation call, then we will need to check their status as there are some basic eligibility requirements. These are very broad as we want to be able to help as many people as we can by extending the service to anyone that either is already in, or is at risk of, falling into fuel poverty.
To receive in-depth energy and income maximisation advice you only need to qualify on one of the points in any of the three categories below to be eligible for the scheme.
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Income criteria
Anyone receiving one of the following:
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Employment and Support Allowance
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Jobseeker's Allowance
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Income Support
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Pension Credit
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Child Tax Credit / Working Tax Credit
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Universal credit
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Child benefit
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Carer's Allowance
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Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction
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A Disability Benefit (incl. Attendance Allowance, DLA, PIP)
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MoD administered benefits
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Annual income not more than that shown in the LEAP income matrix below:
Health criteria
Anyone with one of the following:
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Cardiovascular condition (incl. coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, transient ischemic attack)
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Respiratory condition (incl. COPD, asthma)
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Neurological or neurobiological condition (incl. dementia, Parkinson's disease, MS, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, ME)
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Musculoskeletal conditions (incl. arthritis, limited mobility, recently attended hospital due to a fall)
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Blood conditions (incl. Sickle cell disease, thalassemia)
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Cancer
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Moderate to severe mental illness (incl. schizophrenia bipolar disorder and depression where receiving regular treatment)
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Severe learning disabilities
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Autoimmune or immunodeficiency diseases (e.g. lupus, diabetes, HIV)
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Terminally ill
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Other illness exacerbated by cold (confirmed by GP)
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In possession of a valid NHS Medical Exemption Certificate
Vulnerability criteria
Anyone in one of the following situations:
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Victim of domestic violence
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Recent bereavement
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Moving in and out of homelessness
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Recent immigrant or asylum seeker
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Physical or sensory disability
Why we need to collect evidence of eligibility
We need to record the reason why each applicant is eligible, and sometimes we will need them to provide some evidence of their eligibility. This is to meet the requirements of the funding rules. Permission to collect and store any personal information will be carefully collected at every stage. For more information on how we collect and process personal information, please read the Your Personal Data section of this website.
Making the process as simple as possible
Whether you are referring someone to Connect for Help or applying for yourself, you will need to provide our Energy Advice Team with some very straightforward information. If you are referring somebody else, any information you can provide about why you think the person you are referring should be entitled to help will make the process much simpler. Please note we will take all your recommendations into consideration.