Warm & Safe Wiltshire
Warm & Safe Wiltshire is a free service that helps people save money on their energy bills, and get funding for heating and insulation improvements in their homes.
To date, the service has supported over 12,000 households in the two council areas of Wiltshire and Swindon.
Call us on (freephone) 0800 038 5722
Or fill in the Warm & Safe Wiltshire contact form at the foot of this page.
The services ranges from the light-touch – simple advice, say on using your heating controls effectively – to in-depth support, home visits and casework to for people with more complex needs. This might include referring debt advice or making sure you’re claiming the benefits you need.
It’s all about helping people in Wiltshire and Swindon stay warm and well.
Read on to find out how we can help you, including financial support and grants and funding, how to sign up to the Priority Services Register (and what it is), and general energy saving advice.
Subject to availability, Warm & Safe Wiltshire offers the following:
- Grants to eligible householders for replacing their broken or intermittently working heating systems.
- Winter warmth packs containing oil-filled radiators and electric throws.
- Surviving Winter Fund payments of £200 for people of pensionable age living in a cold home.
- Food shopping and prepayment meter vouchers worth up to £245.
For more detail on these forms of support, click here to go down the page.
Don’t wait. Get in touch …
Use the form at the foot of the page to refer yourself to Warm & Safe Wiltshire, and we’ll be in touch shortly. Jump directly to the Warm & Safe Wiltshire form.
To refer your client or patient, we have a different form. Click here.
Helping you stay warmer for less
Not being able to afford to heat the home is a major problem for many households and can result in high fuel bills and poor health.
We provide free and impartial advice that helps you keep your home warm and reduce your bills. This advice includes:
Free telephone advice and home visits
Our advice line service is open 9-5pm Monday-Friday. The freephone number to call is
0800 038 5722
You can also contact us using the form below.
In some cases, we can offer free home visits to help with issues that may be difficult to deal with over the phone.
Our advisors offer free and impartial advice on: understanding your fuel bills, fuel debt, switching supplier, staying warm for less, cutting your electricity and heating bills, and many other energy-related issues.
Financial assistance
One of the key ways our advisors can help you is by maximising your income by ensuring you receive any benefits or grants that you’re entitled to.
If you’re struggling to pay your heating and electricity bills, you might be eligible for one of the funds listed below. These are subject to availability. We can help you find out if you could benefit from these schemes:
If you’re unable to afford essentials like food and heating this winter, you could receive up to £245 worth of prepayment meter or food shopping vouchers.
The fund is for low-income households, particularly those with vulnerabilities and households that aren’t eligible for other financial support from the government. You do not need to be receiving benefits to be eligible.
If you live in Swindon or Wiltshire and your heating system is broken or only working intermittently, you may be eligible to receive funding to replace or repair it.
A one-off grant of £200 to help with heating and electricity costs.
This grant is for people of pensionable age and people with health conditions who cannot afford to heat their homes. To be eligible you must be spending more than 10% of your household income on heating or underheating your home. You also must be on a low income and receiving a means-tested benefit.
If you have a low income or are receiving income-related benefits, Warm & Safe Wiltshire can make a referral to an installer for insulation and heating improvements and find out if you can receive funding towards it.
If you’re struggling to pay your heating and electricity bills, you may be eligible for extra support, for example vouchers, rebates, winter warmth packs, grants or low interest home improvement loans. We can help you find out.
If you are struggling to pay your water bill, we can contact your water company on your behalf to see what can be done to make paying easier.
And we can help you find out if you are missing out on a benefit and the income that would help you manage your bills more easily. Every year billions of pounds worth of welfare benefits go unclaimed; don’t miss out!
Priority Services Register
The Priority Services Register is a free and very helpful service offered by all electricity and water companies. It offers you extra support when there is a power cut or if your water supply suddenly stops.
If you’re a resident of Wiltshire or Swindon, complete the form on this page and we will make sure you get signed up.
Households qualify if anyone living in the home has a vulnerability or special need, for example:
- Is aged over 60 or under 5.
- Has a long-term illness or disability, or depends on electricity or water for home medical or mobility equipment.
- Has different communication needs (for example, English not being spoken well).
When you’re registered on the Priority Services Register you’ll get advanced notice of any planned interruptions to your electricity or water supply, allowing you to prepare accordingly. In the case of unplanned interruptions – like a sudden power cut – you’ll get a number to call to request the support you need.
Fill in the form
To refer yourself to Warm & Safe Wiltshire, please fill in the form below.
To refer your client or patient, we have a different form. Click here.
If you have any queries about this process, please contact warmandsafe@cse.org.uk.
Warm spaces in Wiltshire and Swindon
If you’re struggling to keep warm at home, Wiltshire and Swindon have many warm spaces set up for winter like local libraries and community spaces.
A bit of background …
Warm & Safe Wiltshire was set up by Wiltshire Council, Swindon Borough Council and the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) with the aim of ensuring that residents of the county live in warm, affordable and healthy homes, free from the threat of fuel poverty. We are grateful for the funding and support this important programme has received from the two councils.
And it is doing good work. Since 2015, Warm & Safe Wiltshire has supported over 12,000 households in the two council areas.
In October 2021, the project was included as an example of best practice in Addressing the National Syndemic a collaboration between the think tank Public Policy Projects and the Institute of Health Equity, in a report on place-based actions to reduce health inequalities.
For more information, email warmandsafe@cse.org.uk.