We have received the following update from EBSS
Dear Colleague
As you are aware, the government is currently working to develop a scheme to support those households who do not have a direct relationship with a domestic energy supplier, through a £400 discount on their energy bill costs this winter – the EBSS Alternative Funding. We are grateful for all of your engagement, advice and support with the development of the scheme to date.
The government announced on 19 December that eligible households would be able to submit an application from January 2023. This would include an online application on the GOV.UK webpages, and a contact centre helpline for those households who do not have online access.
We also communicated with you on 12 January that the government would be launching a pilot scheme to test our digital systems and the end-to-end customer journey, with four local authorities being included. Thank you to those stakeholders who have assisted us in identifying suitable sites for the pilot scheme. The pilot scheme began on 16 January using test data, and we will notify you when eligible households in these local authority areas are able to submit applications.
Developing and delivering a scheme of this kind is a complex task, and it is critical that we get it right. We remain committed to delivering for those households who do not have a direct relationship to a domestic energy supplier as soon as possible, but we have taken the decision to extend the pilot phase to ensure that we make the scheme as robust and effective as possible.
There are a number of points that we are still working through and that are vital for the successful delivery of the scheme. These include finalising guidance and data sharing provisions for local authorities, to reflect learning from the pilot phase; ensuring that case management system works as intended; and preparing local authorities to use the case management system so applications can be processed quickly and effectively.
We have not taken this decision lightly and understand your concerns for those households who are struggling to pay their energy bills. However, there are significant complexities in delivering a novel scheme with a wide variety of eligible groups with different energy arrangements. We must always ensure consumers are protected, and public money is well spent, including robust verification and anti-fraud checks.
The scheme will open across all local authority areas in Great Britain by 27 February and we will be working to try and launch the application portal, and accompanying contact centre helpline, before this date if possible.
We will be in contact with further information regarding the pilot scheme and full scheme launch in due course.
Kind Regards
The EBSS Alternative Funding Team