Observer Column 30 October 2025

By Cllr Glenn Haffenden, leader of the council

With the weather starting to get colder and the clocks changing, thoughts are moving towards how to keep warm over the winter. 

There are some simple things you can do to keep warm, and to reduce the cost of keeping yourself and your family warm. 

With the energy price cap still nearly £500 a year higher than it was this time four years ago for a typical household, any saving on your energy bill can make a big difference.  

Energy suppliers are offering tariffs up to around £250 lower per year than the price cap for a typical household, so shopping around could save you money. 

The Warm Home Check service can help any household in East Sussex with energy advice, including on finding tariffs that might be available for you.  

They can also offer advice on whether or not you can expect to receive the Warm Home Discount and the Winter Fuel Payment this year. The eligibility has changed, and although these payments are automatic for most people, some people may still need to apply or submit information, which the Warm Home Check service can support you with. 

The Warm Home Check service can also offer home visits to eligible households where they can provide small measures to improve energy efficiency and keep you warm and well, support you in emergency heating situations, and help to see if you can access funding for larger improvements to your property. 

If you have older family or friends, please check in on them and make sure they are aware of the help and support available through the Warm Home Check service. 

You can text WARMHOME to 88440, call the freephone helpline on 0800 464 7307 or visit the Warm East Sussex warm home check webpages.

At home, it’s best to keep your home heated to at least 18°C. If you are struggling with the costs of heating your home, you might be able to limit the heating in rooms that you don’t use often, and to keep temperatures lower in bedrooms than living areas.  

You can also try wearing several thin layers of clothing to help keep yourself warm, or break up your daily activities to keep moving. Even just wiggling your fingers and toes or moving your arms and legs every hour can help rather than sitting still. 

Hastings’ Citizens Advice are running training sessions for anyone who supports other people, whether you do this as your job, as a volunteer or just in day-to-day life. The winter resilience training sessions will run until the end of the year with more dates potentially in January and February. 

The training will give more information on the health risks of cold weather, understanding energy bills and meters, getting the best deals on energy bills, how to safely reduce energy use through behaviour changes and practical measures, helping to avoid scams and ways to boost household income and getting extra support.  

You can sign up for the sessions on the Citizens Advice website. The Citizens Advice website also offers advice on other winter readiness on their dedicated Winter Readiness webpages. 

You can also find a directory of warm and welcome spaces across the country.

For more information about money help and support available on everything from household bills, food, transport, mental health, and benefits and grants that you may be eligible for, visit East Sussex County Council’s Cost of Living website.