The Chancellor’s Budget on Wednesday 28 October included a £100 energy payment, a longer freeze on fuel duty and a rise in the minimum wage. Not all of it reaches Northern Ireland the same way, or at the same time. Here’s what we know so far.
The £100 energy payment: why NI doesn’t have it yet
The Budget sets out a £2.6 billion Household Energy Payment. In England, households in council tax bands A to D will get £100 paid straight into their bank accounts from January 2027, with local councils handling it. The government says up to 20 million households will benefit.
Northern Ireland doesn’t have council tax, so the English scheme can’t simply be copied here. Instead, the Budget says the devolved governments will get a share of the money through the Barnett formula so they can “provide similar support”. Northern Ireland’s extra Budget funding comes to £270 million over the Spending Review period.
Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant has warned that a £100 payment can’t be made in Northern Ireland until the Executive agrees a budget. Speaking to BBC Newsline, he said Stormont was not in a legal position to deliver it without one. Finance Minister John O’Dowd is reported to favour an equivalent scheme here, which the BBC says would cost just under £90 million.
Mr O’Dowd has also said that, once the cost-of-living element is taken out, the £270 million amounts to £44 million in additional money. There is no confirmed NI scheme, amount or date yet. We’ll update this when there is.
Fuel duty: 5p cut kept until summer
The 5p a litre cut in fuel duty, due to end on 31 December, will now run for another six months until 1 July 2027. The planned inflation-linked rise is also pushed back to the same date. On 1 July 2027 duty goes up by the 5p plus inflation. The 3.7p cut on red diesel has been extended to the same date. Fuel duty is UK-wide, so this applies at the pump in Northern Ireland.
Minimum wage up 3.9% next April
From 1 April 2027, the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over rises 3.9%, from £12.71 to £13.21 an hour. The government says that’s worth about £910 a year before tax for a full-time worker. Other rates rise too:
- 18 to 20 year olds: £10.85 to £11.27 an hour
- 16 and 17 year olds: £8.00 to £8.31 an hour
- Apprentices: £8.00 to £8.31 an hour
Minimum wage rates apply across the UK, including Northern Ireland. The government says 140,000 workers here got a pay rise from this year’s increase.
Electricity and heating oil
The Budget extends the VAT cut on household electricity in Great Britain to July 2027. For Northern Ireland, it says the Executive is being funded for comparable support and that the extended VAT relief is expected to apply here from April 2027. That’s separate from the £63 electricity discount already on its way to every NI household.
The 4% tariff on imported kerosene is also being suspended until December 2028. The government says 61% of households in Northern Ireland rely on heating oil. If you heat your home with oil, our explainer on the £100 home heating oil voucher covers who can apply. For how prices at the pump have moved this autumn, see our NI diesel price report.
Sources: HM Treasury, Budget 2026 (28 October 2026); GOV.UK National Minimum Wage rates; Northern Ireland Office and HM Treasury, “Breathing space for Northern Ireland families and businesses”; BBC News NI; UTV.
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