Staying Well in Autumn

It’s that time of year again, when nights start to draw in and we begin to think about preparing for the colder months.

Recently we’ve seen lots of discussions and articles about welfare reforms, on top of the cost-of-living crisis, this has caused concerns for many of Shine’s Members.

Below, we’ll share some information about recent and upcoming welfare reforms, what cost of living support may be available to you, and helplines you can call if you need them. We have also included advice and information about staying as healthy as possible in Autumn.

Jump to:

Proposed Welfare Reforms 

Warm Home Discount Scheme 

Winter Fuel Payments 

Joining the Priority Register Service 

Budgeting 

Accessing Food 

Flooding and Power Cuts

Seasonal Vaccinations - Flu and COVID-19

Vitamin D

Welfare reforms, Cost of living support, and useful helplines

Proposed Welfare Reforms

The Government initially proposed huge changes to the benefit system in March 2025. However, after campaigns lead by disability charities and MPs, the proposed reforms have been revised.

The proposed changes originally included: 

• A review of the PIP Assessment process.
• Stricter eligibility criteria for the daily living component of PIP but no changes to mobility. Originally saying any new claimants must score 4 in one area of the assessment.  
• Work Capacity Assessment to be scrapped.  
• Reduced Incapacity benefit top-up on Universal credit for those under 22.  
• Incapacity benefits under universal credit to be halved for new claimants. 
• But they wanted to create more incentives for disabled people to work.  

There will now be no changes to PIP until the end of 2026, following a review led by Disabilities Minister Sir Stephen Timms and "co-produced" with disabled people. We do not yet know what recommendations it will make and whether those changes will be passed into law. 

However, changes for Universal Credit will go ahead.

• The Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity element (“LCWRA” or “health” element) of Universal Credit, for people who cannot work due to a health condition or disability, will be nearly halved for New Claimants from £97 a week to £50 a week from April 2026.

Note: If you already receive this element, it will remain the same.

These changes will affect members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.  

Read Shine’s feedback to the consultation here. 

Warm Home Discount Scheme

This scheme will reopen from October 2025. It is a one-off £150 discount off your electricity bill. If you’re eligible, your electricity supplier will apply the discount to your bill. The money is not paid to you.

There are different ways to qualify for the Warm Home Discount Scheme depending on where you live. Your electricity supplier can tell you how you’ll get the discount if you’re eligible.

If you live in England or Wales, you should qualify if you either:

• Get the Guarantee Credit Element of Pension Credit
• Are on a low income and have high energy costs

The Warm Home Discount scheme is not available in Northern Ireland. Find out about the Affordable Warmth scheme.

Note: You can still qualify for the discount if you use a pre-pay or pay-as-you-go electricity meter.

Winter Fuel Payments

Winter Fuel Payments will be reinstated for all pensioners in England and Wales this year. Northern Ireland has confirmed that pensioners will receive payment in line with England & Wales. This is paid automatically to those born before 22nd September 1959.

If you or your partner receive Pension Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit only one person will be paid the whole Winter Fuel Payment.  If you don’t receive these benefits, it will be split between the qualifying members of the household.  

You can receive between £100 and £300 towards heating bill for winter 2025/26. 

If you have over £35,000 of taxable gross income the payment you receive will be recovered later through the tax system. If you know your income will be above £35,000 and you want to you can opt out by calling the Winter Fuel Payment Centre on 0800 731 0160 or complete the online opt out form before 15 September 2025. You'll need your National Insurance number. 

Priority Register Service

With the weather turning colder it is worth reminding Shine members that you can use the Priority Register Service. This is a free support service that energy suppliers offer if you rely on your energy supply for medical needs.

You will need to contact your own supplier to get on to the register. To check if you are eligible and find out other support services, please click the link below:

The Priority Services Register (PSR) is a free UK wide service which provides extra advice and support, including when there’s an interruption to your electricity or gas supply

Budgets

With the Cost-of-Living increasing outgoings across all areas making a budget will help you take control of your finances and ideally get you back on track financially.

Having more money coming in will not help if you don’t keep track on your spending.  

There are charities that can help you with budgeting and debt - Citizens Advice and Step Change can both offer free, impartial advice.

Did you know Shine have monthly Financial Fitness sessions that you can join for support as well? You can also speak to our Support & Development Workers 1-2-1.

View upcoming Shine Events here.

Support with Household Emergencies

Power Cut 105: Ring 105 to report or get information about power cuts in your local area. This service is free, and you will be put through to a local network operator for help and advice. You can call from most landlines and mobiles or use the website: https://www.powercut105.com/ 

Floodline: If your area is prone to flooding, you can sign up to free flood warnings from Floodline. They provide a 24-hour service that provides warnings by phone, text or email: 0345 988 1188 

Staying Healthy in Autumn

Eating well & Accessing Food

It is important to make sure you are eating as well as you can. Not eating enough could be bad for your health, especially in colder months as it makes it harder to keep warm and fight off infections.

If you are struggling to cover the costs of buying food, there are many organisations who can help. Below is a list of some of these, how they can help, and how you can contact them:

• The Trussell Trust operate the largest network of foodbanks across the UK. You can search for your nearest food bank via their interactive map.
• IFAN are the UK network for independent food aid providers. They support and connect a range of independent frontline food aid organisations. They have mapped independent foodbanks.
• OLIO is a free app allowing neighbours to offer perfectly good, unwanted food to each other. Everything shared on OLIO is free.
• Too Good to Go – a free app where you can easily see which cafes, restaurants, bakeries and/or stores in your local area have perfectly good food left over for you to save and enjoy at half of the price or less.
• Free school meals. Check here to see if your children are eligible for free school meals before they go back to school. If you live in London all children are entitled to free school meals, but it is still important to complete the application form for that borough as the school might be able to receive more money.

Seasonal Vaccinations

Staying healthy and well during the colder months is important and you should start by booking yourself in for the seasonal vaccinations you are eligible for.

The seasonal flu vaccination is available from:

1st September 2025 for…

• those who are pregnant
• children aged 2 or 3 years old on 31 August 2025 
• primary school-aged children (from Reception to Year 6) 
• secondary school-aged children (from Year 7 to Year 11) 
• children in clinical risk groups aged from 6 months to 17 years old

October 2025 for…

• those aged 65 years and over 
• those aged 18 years to 64 years in clinical risk groups  
• those in long-stay residential care homes 
• those who are carers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person 
• those with close contacts of immunocompromised individuals 
• those who are frontline workers in a social care setting without an employer led occupational health scheme – including those working for a registered residential care or nursing home, registered domiciliary care providers, voluntary managed hospice providers and those that are employed by those who receive direct payments (personal budgets) or Personal Health budgets, such as Personal Assistants 

You may be offered a COVID-19 vaccine in early winter if:  

• You are aged over 75  
• You are aged 6 months to 74 years and have a weakened immune system because of a health condition or treatment  
• You live in a care home for older adults.  

This link will give advice on other seasonal vaccinations and how to book them; https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/keep-warm-keep-well/ 

Vitamin D

In the UK around 50% of white people and 90% of people of colour are deficient in Vitamin D.

Vitamin D is essential for keeping bones strong and may help to prevent depression and heart disease. It can help prevent respiratory infections and helps normal immune function.

90% of Vitamin D is made by the skin when the sun shines on it. However, from October to April the sun is not strong enough in the UK to produce this effect. People with spina bifida, who find it hard to get outdoors every day, may be at particular risk of deficiency.

To make sure you keep your Vitamin D levels up during the dark winter months, you can:

• take a 10ug supplement of Vitamin D each day to prevent deficiency.
• top up your vitamin intake with oily fish and fortified foods such as dairy products and cereals.
• try to go out for half an hour a day when the weather is warm enough.
• ask your GP to check your Vitamin D levels.

You can buy Vitamin D supplements or vitamin drops containing Vitamin D (for under 5s) cheaply from most pharmacies and supermarkets. Women and children who qualify for the Healthy Start scheme can get free vitamins.

Note: If you have kidney impairment you may need a prescription for active Vitamin D.

Shine’s support for you

If you need any support with anything mentioned above, Shine’s Support and Development Workers may be able to assist and/or access one of the support organisations to advise you further - contact us here.

For further information on Shine’s services and Spina Bifida, Hydrocephalus, Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus and associated conditions please click here.

For further information on staying well, grants and more tips and suggestions please join the Shine Facebook Group for your region:

·       England Shine Facebook Group 

·       Wales Shine Facebook Group 

·       Northern Ireland Shine Facebook Group

Further information for Northern Ireland and Wales:

If you live in Northern Ireland, further information on much of the above can be found at https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/campaigns/cost-living 

If you live in Wales, you can find more information at https://www.dewis.wales