Nobody writes to tell you when the rules move

What changed, and what it means for you

Benefit rates go up in April. The energy price cap moves four times a year. Whole schemes open and close with a press release nobody reads. Every one of them is money, and every one of them is here, dated, with a link to the official page so you can check it yourself.

2026

  1. Energy price cap

    The price cap rises 4%, and VAT on electricity drops to nothing

    From 1 October the capped rates go up: a typical home paying by direct debit goes from £1,663 a year to £1,723. Gas is up around 8% and electricity barely moves, because VAT on household electricity in England, Scotland and Wales falls from 5% to zero for six months at the same time. Northern Ireland keeps the 5%.

    The zero rate ends on 31 March 2027, so an electricity bill goes up again in April even if nothing else changes. Fixed deals a few per cent under the cap are available now, and a fix locks the price but not the exit fee, so check that before you sign.

    The tool for thisCheck it: Ofgem: changes to the energy price cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026
  2. Energy price cap

    The next price cap, from 1 October to 31 December 2026

    Announced ahead of time: electricity 26.32p a unit and 54.83p a day, gas 7.97p a unit and 29.68p a day.

    Nothing to do yet. Take a meter reading on the day it starts.

    The tool for thisCheck it: Ofgem energy price cap
  3. Rule change

    The typical home Ofgem prices the cap against got smaller

    Ofgem cut the usage figures behind every headline energy bill: a medium home went from 2,700 to 2,500 units of electricity and from 11,500 to 9,500 of gas. It then raised the unit rates to make up the difference.

    It means the headline bill in the news fell further than any real bill did. Compare your own unit rate and standing charge with the cap for your region, not the national figure, and ignore the headline.

    The tool for thisCheck it: Ofgem: review of typical domestic consumption values
  4. Energy price cap

    The energy price cap for 1 July to 30 September 2026

    Electricity is capped at 26.11p a unit with a 57.19p daily standing charge, and gas at 7.33p a unit with 29.04p a day. The cap limits the price of a unit, not your bill: use more and you pay more.

    Take a meter reading on the day it changes so the old rate cannot be applied to new usage.

    The tool for thisCheck it: Ofgem energy price cap
  5. Rate change

    Benefits and the State Pension went up

    Universal Credit, PIP, Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance and the rest rose with the September inflation figure. The State Pension rose under the triple lock.

    If you were turned down for something before April because you were just over a threshold, the thresholds moved too. It is worth checking again.

    The tool for thisCheck it: DWP benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027
  6. New help

    The Crisis and Resilience Fund replaced the Household Support Fund

    Councils still hold money for households in crisis, but it is a different fund with different rules, and every council runs its own version. Some pay for food and energy, some for white goods or beds.

    Ask your council directly, by name. Many do not advertise it and most will not tell you unless you ask.

    The tool for thisCheck it: Cost of living help from your council
  7. Closed

    The Great British Insulation Scheme closed, but ECO4 did not

    The Great British Insulation Scheme ended: work had to be finished by 31 March 2026. ECO4, which is the bigger of the two and can pay for insulation, heating controls and in some cases a new boiler, was given another nine months and now runs to 31 December 2026.

    If you are on a qualifying benefit or a low income in a poorly insulated home, there is still time. Ask your energy supplier about ECO4 by name, or your council, and do it well before December so the work can be finished.

    The tool for thisCheck it: Ofgem: the Energy Company Obligation
  8. Rule change

    Every forecourt now has to report its fuel prices

    Under the Fuel Finder scheme, every filling station in the UK must report a price change to the government within thirty minutes of it happening. Before this, prices were voluntary and patchy.

    It means the prices you see here are the ones on the pole, not an estimate. Check before you drive: the gap across five miles is often 10p a litre.

    The tool for thisCheck it: Fuel Finder

Changes we made ourselves

We ask you to trust that businesses cannot buy their way up the list. So when we change a listing by hand, recalculate someone's ratings, or remove a rating, that is published here too. It comes straight from the record of what was actually done, not from a list somebody remembers to keep. Nothing about any household appears: an erasure request is that household's business and publishing it would defeat the point.

  • A site setting was changed7 September 2026
  • A site setting was changed7 September 2026
  • A site setting was changed6 September 2026

The live figures behind the ranking promise are on the proof page.

Hear about the next one

April is when most of it moves, and it is the easiest month to miss. Join free and the Sunday email carries anything that changed that week, in the same plain words as this page.

Join free in 10 seconds

Know someone this would help?

Send it over. It is free, there is nothing to sign up to, and nobody gets sold to.

WhatsApp Email