CANAL & RIVER TRUST calls for liveaboard boaters to be included in £100 energy payment.
Canal & River Trust is calling on the government to ensure that people living on boats are not excluded from the new £100 Household Energy Payment.
Announced in Autumn budget
The payment, announced in the autumn budget, is intended to help households with energy costs. Under the government’s initial proposals, it will be available in England to households living in Council Tax band A to D properties, with payments beginning in January 2027. Full eligibility criteria have yet to be published.
Many people who live permanently on boats, particularly those without a home mooring, do not have a conventional residential address or Council Tax account. The trust is concerned that this could prevent them from accessing support, despite facing the same pressures from rising energy costs as people living on land.
The trust is contacting the government to seek urgent clarification and to make the case for an alternative arrangement that includes eligible liveaboard boaters.
Should not be overlooked
Matthew Symonds, head of boating and customer service at the Trust, explained:
“People who live on boats should not be overlooked simply because their home does not fit a conventional address or Council Tax model. We are asking the government to clarify how liveaboard boaters will be treated and to put an alternative route in place where the standard payment arrangements cannot work. We successfully made this case when energy support was introduced in 2022 to support people during the Covid pandemic. We will use that experience to help the government find a fair and workable solution again.”
In 2023, following sustained engagement by the trust, people living on boats without a home mooring on its waterways became eligible for a £600 payment through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. Before that agreement was reached, the trust had provided government officials with information about boat licensing, moorings, boater demographics and the needs of liveaboard boaters. It also worked alongside national boating organisations to press for the scheme to be extended.
Encouraging liveaboard boaters
The trust is encouraging liveaboard boaters to write to their MP, explain how the proposed eligibility criteria may affect them, and ask the government to include people whose boat is their only or main home. Boaters can find their MP’s contact details through the UK Parliament website: Find your MP - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament
The trust will update boaters when the Government publishes further eligibility details. Boaters do not need to provide information to the trust or take any other action at this stage.