Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of setting targets for energy suppliers in respect of (a) identifying and (b) supporting disabled customers.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The department has not set targets on this item as Ofgem already has measures in place to require energy suppliers to support disabled customers. This includes protection from disconnection during the winter, and the provision of additional support through a Priority Services Register. Ofgem monitors compliance with their rules protecting vulnerable consumers. Their most recent report is available at:
Under the Warm Home Discount scheme, Ofgem provides a breakdown in their annual reports of the Industry Initiatives supporting fuel poor and vulnerable households through measures that include benefit entitlement checks and debt write-off. The 2020-2021 report is available at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/warm-home-discount-annual-report-scheme-year-10.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the level of support provided by energy suppliers to disabled customers through (a) benefit entitlement checks, (b) debt write-off and (c) other related schemes.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofgem require energy suppliers to support disabled customers. This includes protection from disconnection during the winter, and the provision of additional support through a Priority Services Register. Ofgem monitors compliance with their rules protecting vulnerable consumers. Their most recent report is available at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2021-10/Ofgem%20Consumer%20Protection%20Report%20Autumn%202021_Final.pdf.
Under the Warm Home Discount scheme, Ofgem provides a breakdown in their annual reports of the Industry Initiatives supporting fuel poor and vulnerable households through measures that include benefit entitlement checks and debt write-off. The 2020-2021 report is available at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/warm-home-discount-annual-report-scheme-year-10.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which fuel poverty target numbers adequately recognise disabled people’s higher energy costs and usage.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The fuel poverty target is to ensure that as many fuel poor homes as is reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency rating of Band C, by 2030. Its aim is to target energy efficiency support to low income households.
The 2030 target does not include estimates of energy costs, including estimates for any specific groups.
Progress against the target is reported on in the annual fuel poverty statistics, which can be found https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the level of energy costs faced by (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled people.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Some evidence suggests that households with a disability have higher heating costs than average.
BEIS does not determine the price of gas or electricity as these are set by global market conditions however Ofgem’s price cap ensures that the price of tariffs is fair and that customers do not experience a loyalty penalty.
The Government is aware of the impact that high global wholesale energy prices are having on consumers and has put in place additional support worth £9.1bn on top of existing measures to support vulnerable households.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to support small businesses that are experiencing operational challenges as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Paul Scully
Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) are the backbone of our economy and have a key role to play in driving economic growth. The Government has provided an unprecedented and comprehensive package of support to help as many businesses as possible during this challenging period.
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Scheme (CLBILS) and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) were instrumental in providing vital cashflow to businesses affected by the pandemic, unlocking almost £80bn of finance and reaching almost a third of SMEs in the UK. This has been supplemented by the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) which ensures they can continue to access loans and other kinds of finance as they grow and recover from the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic. The RLS is still open to applications from SMEs until 30 June 2022. We have also implemented business rates relief worth £7 billion over five years.
This government is providing support on access to finance through the British Business Bank and our new ‘Help to Grow’ scheme will help small businesses across the UK learn new skills, reach new customers and boost profits.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made on (a) the increase in energy prices for consumers and (b) the impact if that on people in the North West.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The published fuel poverty projections for 2022, show that while most households will need to pay more for their energy bills from April, the financial support offered combined with action on energy efficiency will keep the number of households in fuel poverty on a slight declining trend. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics. These projections are at a national level for England and no projections have been made at the regional level.
We are already taking action to support households with rising energy bills. The government is providing a package of support worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23 which includes a £150 Council Tax rebate for bands A-D, £144 million discretionary funding for local authorities and a £200 energy bill reduction which will help over 28 million households. This is in addition to the support Government will continue to provide through the Warm Home Discount Scheme, which this winter is providing over 2 million households a £140 rebate off their energy bill. We have announced that it would be increasing to £150 and help an extra 780,000 households next winter. Further, Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments help ensure the most vulnerable are better able to heat their homes over the colder months.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support local high street businesses.
Answered by Paul Scully
We are providing a further £1bn for businesses most impacted by Omicron, in addition to the £400bn package already provided which includes grants, loans, business rates relief, VAT discounts and rent moratorium – providing a lifeline for many local high street businesses.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people on low incomes are able to afford the rising costs of gas and electricity bills.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to protecting customers from price spikes, particularly vulnerable customers. The Warm Home discount provides over 2 million households a £140 rebate off their energy bill each winter, and there are plans to increase it to £150 and help an extra 780,000 households. The Energy Company Obligation is being expanded to £1.billion p.a. which will ensure energy suppliers help 133,000 low-income households a year to permanently lower their bills by an average of £290 p.a. via insulation and new heating. From October, households in Great Britain will receive a £200 cash rebate on their energy costs. A £150 non-repayable reduction in Council Tax bills for (English) households in Bands A-D will apply from April with £144 million of discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support households who need support but are not eligible for the Council Tax reduction.
The Government has also provided an extra £500 million for local authorities through the new Household Support Fund to provide help to millions of the most in need. The Energy Price Cap will remain in place at least till the end of 2022 to ensure millions of customers pay a fair price for their energy.