Around 70,000 Norfolk households — roughly 17% of all homes in the county — rely on heating oil for heating and hot water, one of the highest rates in England. A motion debated at the full council meeting on 28 May called on the council to review its £3 million Norfolk Heating Oil Crisis Fund, which currently targets low-income households earning below £35,000 per year.

Cllr David Thomas, who proposed the motion, argued that the scheme was failing a "squeezed middle" of households who fall just above the income threshold but are still struggling to afford fuel. Current grants are typically around £350, with a £3,000 savings cap — levels councillors said may not cover the upfront cost of a minimum oil delivery.

Geopolitical instability, including disruption to the Strait of Hormuz shipping route, was cited in the motion as a reason to expect higher energy prices to persist for at least another eight months.

The motion asked the council leader to review eligibility thresholds, consider whether grant levels are sufficient, and direct £3.25 million in Community Resilience and Local Partnership Funding toward reaching off-grid and rural households who may not apply for help themselves. A further £750,000 Emerging Threats and Pressures Fund was to be prioritised for rapid intervention.

An amendment proposed by Cllr Ben Price would have gone further, allowing crisis grants to be used as vouchers toward renewable energy upgrades such as solar thermal or heat pump installations. Cllr Thomas rejected the amendment, and it was voted down 64 to 12.

The substantive motion ended in a dead heat — 38 votes for, 38 against — and was lost on the casting vote of the newly elected Chair, Cllr Julian Kirk.