Dorset residents living in park homes, houseboats or off the electricity grid or who pay for their energy through a landlord, housing manager or site owner can now apply for funding from the government’s Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS Alternative Funding). A payment of £400 is available to households who do not have a direct relationship with an energy supplier and therefore were unable to previously receive it.

Cllr Laura Beddow, Dorset Council portfolio holder for Culture, Communities and Customer Services said: “Residents will be required to provide bank details as part of the online form which will naturally cause some nervousness. You will never be asked to apply for EBSS Alternative Funding by email or text and will never be sent a link to apply.”

Applications can be made through the government form, which can be found by searching ‘Apply for energy bill support if you do not get it automatically’ into the gov.uk webpage search bar or through an online search engine.

The form is now open for applications and closes on 31 May at 11.59pm. Payment may take around six weeks following a successful application.

Residents who are unable to complete the form online, should contact the governments helpline on 0808 175 3287. This will be open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.

For other cost of living help residents can visit https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/w/cost-of-living-help