About 43,090 Worthing homes, 82.6% of the borough, are in council tax bands A to D and qualify for the Budget's £100 from January 2027. Who gets it, and how.
More than four in five Worthing homes are in council tax bands A to D, so most households in the borough should get the £100 energy payment announced in Wednesday’s Budget. The money is paid from January 2027.
About 43,090 of Worthing’s 52,160 homes are in bands A to D, or 82.6%. That is a little above the England figure of 80.8%, and well above West Sussex as a whole, at 70.7%. The other 9,080 or so homes, in bands E to H, will not get the payment.
The counts come from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax stock of properties for 2026. It records every home on the valuation list at 31 March 2026, rounded to the nearest ten.
What the Budget announced
The government’s explainer on energy bills, published on 28 October, sets out how the payment works:
- £100 per household, called the Household Energy Payment
- council tax bands A to D in England only, for the household that is liable for council tax and lives in the home as its main home
- paid from January 2027
- up to 20 million households across England
- most households exempt from council tax are included; the full rules are still to come
- second homes, empty properties and households who are not responsible for the council tax are left out
Where in Worthing the payment goes furthest
The bands still rest on what a home would have sold for on 1 April 1991. Worthing has 8,420 homes in Band A, 11,670 in Band B, 13,210 in Band C and 9,790 in Band D.
The same VOA tables split the borough into 13 small areas. The share in bands A to D runs from almost every home in Broadwater South to fewer than half in High Salvington and Findon Valley.
| Neighbourhood | Homes in bands A to D | All homes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadwater South | 3,960 | 4,030 | 98.3% |
| Durrington North | 3,460 | 3,640 | 95.1% |
| East Worthing | 3,240 | 3,420 | 94.7% |
| Broadwater East | 3,210 | 3,390 | 94.7% |
| Worthing Central | 5,370 | 5,820 | 92.3% |
| Durrington South | 4,060 | 4,400 | 92.3% |
| Heene | 4,430 | 4,880 | 90.8% |
| Northbrook | 3,850 | 4,280 | 90.0% |
| Salvington | 2,780 | 3,540 | 78.5% |
| West Worthing | 3,060 | 4,250 | 72.0% |
| Broadwater West | 1,830 | 2,970 | 61.6% |
| Goring-by-Sea | 2,250 | 4,070 | 55.3% |
| High Salvington and Findon Valley | 1,650 | 3,460 | 47.7% |
The areas are the statistical units the VOA publishes, known as middle layer super output areas. The names are the House of Commons Library’s labels for them, so their edges will not match everyone’s idea of where Goring or Broadwater stops.
How Worthing compares with its neighbours
Worthing sits in the middle of the West Sussex districts. Adur, which takes in Lancing and Shoreham a few miles east, has the highest share in the county.
| Area | Homes in bands A to D | All homes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adur | 26,060 | 29,270 | 89.0% |
| Crawley | 40,670 | 47,350 | 85.9% |
| Worthing | 43,090 | 52,160 | 82.6% |
| Arun | 59,920 | 80,660 | 74.3% |
| Chichester | 38,450 | 62,110 | 61.9% |
| Mid Sussex | 43,880 | 71,270 | 61.6% |
| Horsham | 37,780 | 66,990 | 56.4% |
| West Sussex | 289,840 | 409,810 | 70.7% |
| England | 20,954,030 | 25,936,540 | 80.8% |
These are counts of homes, not households. Some will be empty or second homes, so the number of Worthing households that receive £100 will be a little lower. The government has not published a figure for each council.
How the money will be paid
The government says councils will pay it:
- If you pay council tax by direct debit and live in bands A to D, you do not need to do anything. The £100 will be paid into your bank account.
- If you pay another way, the council will invite you to apply.
- Nobody other than the council should contact you about it. The government warns people to give personal details only when they are sure the council is the one asking.
Adur & Worthing Councils had not published anything on how or when they will pay it by 30 October. Their latest news releases do not mention it.
If your home is in Band E or above
The government is giving councils an extra £100 million to make discretionary payments to struggling households outside bands A to D. Each council sets its own rules and will publish them on its website once its scheme is ready. Worthing’s share has not been announced.
Households on some means-tested benefits may also get the £150 Warm Home Discount, whatever their band.
What it means for you
- Check your band with the GOV.UK council tax band tool. Our Worthing council tax bands page lists what each band pays in 2026/27.
- If you are in A to D and pay by direct debit, the £100 should arrive from January without you doing anything.
- If you pay by cash, card or standing order, look out for the council’s invitation to apply.
- If you are in Band E or above and struggling, watch for the council’s discretionary scheme. We will report the rules when they are published.
- Treat any text or email about the payment with suspicion unless it clearly comes from Adur & Worthing Councils.
The same government explainer says the Budget also asks Ofgem to remove the standing charge from gas bills as early as 2027.
Sources
- What the Autumn Budget 2026 means for your energy bills, GOV.UK, 28 October 2026
- Council tax stock of properties 2026, Valuation Office Agency, table CTSOP1.1, homes by band at 31 March 2026
- MSOA names, House of Commons Library
Have your say