Advice Dorset Partnership E News No. 17, 20 November 2025

HOUSING

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 – Government Guidance: Last week we reported that the final version of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 has been published. You can find the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 on legislation.gov.uk.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has now published guidance outlining the act’s key measures. You can read the Guide to the Renters’ Rights Act on GOV.UK.

IMMIGRATION

Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) Scheme to be Extended: The government had announced on 1 September that this would be extended for a further 24 months. There have yet to be changes to the immigration rules but the Home Office page now says:

“The UK government announced on 1 September 2025, that the UPE scheme will be extended for another 24 months, following the initial 18 month period.

Applicants will be able to apply for an extension in advance of their UPE permission expiring to get a maximum permission of 3 and a half years”.

This presumably means that extensions will be available either to the proposed end date of the scheme, or for 3 and a half years on a rolling basis. We will wait to see what happens when the rules are next amended.

You can read about ‘Applying to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme’ on GOV.UK.

DWP Additions to Exemptions to Habitual Residence (HRT) and Past Presence Tests (PPT): In an update to DMG Memo 10/25 DWP has added specified people who have left Jamaica as a result of Hurricane Melissa to the list of people exempt from the HRT and PPT.  The Social Security (Habitual Residence, Past Presence and Temporary Absence) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 enable the government to add people who have fled a country after government advice for British nationals, and foreign nationals who hold an immigration status under a safe and legal humanitarian immigration route to leave, or arranged their evacuation. People affected will be exempt (for 6 months for the HRT or 130 weeks for the PPT) from the date the government gave advice to leave or arranged the evacuation. This allows people to access benefits more quickly than under the normal rules provided they meet all the other entitlement conditions, including not being a person subject to immigration control.

Currently exemptions for HRT purposes apply for 6 months to people who left:

• South Sudan from 27 March 2025
• Israel from 23 June 2025
• Occupied Palestinian Territories from 23 June 2025
• Jamaica from 1 November 2025

Exemptions for past presence purposes apply for 130 weeks in relation to people who left:

• Niger from 1 August 2023 until 26 January 2026
• South Sudan from 27 March 2025 until 22 September 2027
• Israel from 23 June 2025 until 19 December 2027
• Occupied Palestinian Territories from 23 June 2025 until 19 December 2027
• Jamaica from 1 November 2025 until 28 April 2028

FAMILY

Flexible Fund: Survivors of domestic abuse may be eligible to receive one-off payments through the Flexible Fund, which is being piloted by the Home Office (HO) until 26th February 2026.

The flexible fund enables a survivor of domestic abuse to make a claim, through an eligible organisation, for one-off payments to help provide financial support ‘at different stages of a survivor’s journey’. There are two separate ‘streams’ of support:

• Flee Fund – This is a one-off payment of up to £500 to help a survivor with essential costs like food, clothing, nappies when leaving an abusive environment
• Future Fund – This is a one off payment of up to £2500, which could be used to help a survivor pay for a deposit on rental accommodation or other costs

You can read more about the flexible fund and how to check eligibility through Women’s Aid on the Women’s Aid website.

UTILITIES

Energy Ombudsman launches Access for All trial with British Gas: The Energy Ombudsman has launched the Access for All trial (AfA) with British Gas customers. Customers with live complaints will be told by British Gas that they are eligible to use the Energy Ombudsman service after 8 weeks or a deadlock. They will also be told that their complaint will be automatically referred to the Energy Ombudsman after 10 weeks or 2 weeks after a deadlock letter has been issued. Customers will be given the option to opt out of this trial. Customers who do not opt out will automatically have their complaint data shared with the Energy Ombudsman. At that point British Gas will send a QR code and hyperlink to the customer to access their case on the Energy Ombudsman case portal.  The Energy Ombudsman has a dedicated phone line that is just for the AfA trial –  0330 041 2207. This number is unique to the AfA trial and differs from the standard Energy Ombudsman public number.

You can read more about the trial on the Energy Ombudsman’s website.

Tomato Energy Ceases Trading: Tomato Energy announced on 5 November that they would cease trading. Tomato has 15,000 domestic and 8,000 non-domestic customers who are affected. Ofgem confirmed that customer supply and account balances will be protected.

On 10 November Ofgem confirmed that:

• British Gas will act as supplier of last resort for customers of Tomato Energy
• Customers will be contacted by British Gas about taking over their supply after 9 November
• If customers are in credit with Tomato their account balances will be protected
• Customers who owe money or are in debit to Tomato Energy should wait to hear from British Gas or Tomato’s administrators. Existing rules around back-billing will still apply
• Customers should take a meter reading to provide to British Gas
• Customers will not be charged exit fees for switching supplier

You can read the announcement about Tomato Energy on the Ofgem website.

Ofgem and Energy Suppliers Encourage Consumers to Reclaim £240 Million in Closed Account Balances: Ofgem and energy suppliers have advised consumers who have moved home in the last 5 years to check in case they are due money from old accounts. Consumers are advised to check emails and letters for final bills that may show that they are due money. Ofgem figures estimate that 1.9 million closed accounts still have a total of £240 million in them to be reclaimed. If consumers have not received a final bill they should contact their old supplier.

You can read ‘Ofgem and energy suppliers encourage consumers to reclaim £240 million in closed account balances’ on the Ofgem website.

CONSUMER

National Crime Agency (NCA) Crypto Campaign: The NCA has launched a campaign to highlight the risks of crypto investment fraud. The campaign targets men aged below 45 in particular. People are introduced to cryptocurrency platforms, often via social media. Then fraudsters encourage them to send thousands of pounds as an investment. The platforms make the victims believe their money is growing – but the money has been taken by criminals.  The campaign features a video telling the story of a victim.

You can read more about the ‘Crypto dream, scam nightmare’ campaign on the National Crime Agency website.

Lloyds Banking Scam: A Lloyds banking scam is circulating. Lloyds has recently changed their monthly fees for their Club Lloyds accounts. Scammers have used this opportunity to send emails about changes to Lloyds accounts. The email is very convincing – but the sender address gives it away. The email encourages people to click on a link to a fake Lloyds banking site, designed to harvest information.

You can read about the LLoyds Bank scam on the Which? Website.

Blue Islands Airline Suspends Trading: Blue Islands Airline operates services from airports in the UK and the Channel Islands. All Blue Islands-operated flights are now cancelled. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is asking people not to go to the airport – people should make other travel arrangements. Other airlines have announced services to support Blue Islands customers. There is more information about what action people can take on the CAA webpage.

You can read the UK Civil Aviation Authority Statement about Blue Islands on the CAA website.

Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Black Friday Blog: The CMA has published a new blog with lots of helpful advice about shopping during Black Friday. The blog talks about consumer rights, and gives advice about shopping around. There is also advice on avoiding scams, which spike during Black Friday. The blog reminds people that if a delivery is late or missing, the seller is responsible.

You can read ‘Shop smart, bag a bargain – a consumer expert’s guide to Black Friday’ CMA blog on GOV.UK.

Research and Reports

Thinking Ahead – Supporting Carers to Manage Their Finances: Throughout the UK, 5.8 million people are providing unpaid care to
family members and friends who are disabled, older or who have a chronic health condition and need support. Research from Carers UK finds that many carers want and need more support with managing their finances. Read the report here.

Health, Wealth and Employment in the Run-Up to State Pension Age: Research from the IFS explores has health among those in their late 50s and early 60s has changed over time, and how these trends are associated with wealth and employment. Read the research here.

Welcoming Growth: The Economic Case for a Fair and Humane Asylum System: Recent research from the LSE argues that the UK could benefit economically from a more equitable asylum system. It highlights how current inefficiencies drive up public spending and shows that refugees already contribute meaningfully to society and could contribute even more if given the opportunity. The report challenges the narrative that refugees are a burden on public services. Read the report here.

Funding

Community and Culture Project Fund Round 10 CLOSING SOON: The fund provides small grants to organisations who want to start new activities and events that benefit the local community. They prioritise applications that supports residents and those groups that are marginalised, disadvantaged or hard to reach. The fund is a small project grant, funding up to 80% of total project costs. Grants are from £1,000 to £5,000.

The key dates for this round are:

• Opened for new applications at 9am on Friday, 3 October 2025
• Closes for applications at midnight on Friday, 21 November 2025
• Panels will convene in December 2025
• Awards by the end of December 2025

Further details can be found here.