In nine wards every single household is eligible for the payout announced this week, new research shows
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey (Image: Getty)
More households in Hull will benefit from the £100 energy payout announced in the Budget than in any other council area, research shows. Chancellor John Healey announced the cash will go to households in Council Tax bands A to D in England, to help with their energy costs.
And the sum will reach 98.5% of homes in Hull – the highest share of any council in England. Officials in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said up to 20 million households will be eligible, including an estimated 83% of fuel-stressed households in England.
The payments will be made from January 2027 – and directly into bank accounts for those who pay the bills by direct debit.
Speaking during his Budget speech, Mr Healey said: “Let me say this to families at home. I know that with the conflict in the Middle East, rising energy bills are a real worry. I know that people look to Government at times like this, not to solve all their problems, but to give them a bit of breathing space.
“So today I’m taking one further step. This winter, for 20 million households in council tax bands A to D, I am announcing a £100 energy payment for households, paid directly into people’s bank accounts to deal with rising energy bills. That’s a £2.6bn scheme to take the pressure off in the coldest months and see people through to the spring.”
In Hull, 98.5% of homes are in bands A to D, ranking it first in analysis of the 294 councils and homes in bands A to D. The figures have been revealed by number-crunchers at Gains, a UK money app combining instant cashback at retailers with budgeting and money management tools.
The business analysed data from the Valuation Office Agency and HM Land Registry data, October 2026. The Barnsley-based firm’s findings highlight how Hull has 123,930 homes in bands A to D. It means around £12.4m will be paid out to Hull households, although 1,840 homes in bands E to H will miss out.
In nine wards – including Newington & Gipsyville, West Carr, Holderness, Southcoates, Boothferry, Orchard Park, Marfleet, Derringham and Central – every single house qualifies for the £100 payout. Bands still use 1991 values, which means that a Band D home in Hackney worth about £820,000 qualifies – yet a Band E home in Blackpool worth about £290,000 misses out.
Meanwhile, East Riding of Yorkshire ranks 148th out of 296 councils for the share of homes in bands A to D, while North East Lincolnshire ranks 25th. Conversely, the council set to see the least uptake of the energy windfall are in Kensington and Chelsea, where just 31.7% of households are eligible.
Chris Barnes, co-founder of Gains App, added: “In nine of the city’s 21 wards, including Newington & Gipsyville, West Carr, Holderness and Orchard Park, virtually every home qualifies. The one exception is Kingswood, where 84% of homes are in bands A to D. It’s the only ward in Hull below 95%.
“The flip side is that the few Band E homes in Hull that miss out could be worth as little as about £340,000 today. In Hackney, a Band D home worth about £820,000 still gets the payment. Whether you get the £100 mostly comes down to what your home was worth 35 years ago, not what you earn or what you pay for energy.
“In Barking and Dagenham almost every home gets the £100. On the other side of London, in Kensington and Chelsea, fewer than a third do. That’s the 1991 valuation list at work, rather than individual needs.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the £100 energy support payment is “real help” when people “need it most” though critics say it will hardly make an impact on soaring bills. “We’re very focused on giving families as much breathing space as we possibly can,” PA reported.
“Often with a budget, people would have come home from work and said, ‘Well, this doesn’t help me. It’s always for somebody else’. Well, if you’re going to give that support to people in council tax bands A to D, that gets to the vast majority of the country.
“It is help, real help that will land in people’s bank accounts in January.”
Ofgem’s price cap rose by 3.6% to £1,723 for a typical household on October 1, with a further rise of about 22% forecast in January. The End Fuel Poverty Coalition said the £100 payment would “barely dent” the predicted rise households face in January and that “because it is paid directly into household accounts in England, it may not even be spent on staying warm this winter”.
Residents can check if they are eligible by visiting the Gains App checker here.
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