Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Warm Home Discount is provided to eligible claimants who have their bills included in their rent.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Earlier this year, the Government consulted on broadening Warm Home Discount eligibility to include households whose energy costs are included in their rent. However, it was not feasible to take this forward without increasing the cost of the scheme for all consumers. We recognise the challenges this presents and continue to keep eligibility under review.
We recognise the importance of ensuring that those in rented accommodation live in warm, energy-efficient homes. This is why we recently consulted on raising minimum energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector. We received a significant number of responses and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to recommendation 12 of the First Report of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee of Session 2022-23 on Preparing for the winter, HC 1720, published on 23 September 2023, whether he plans to implement the proposed changes to standing energy charges.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We know that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges. We are committed to lowering the cost of standing charges and have worked constructively with the regulator, Ofgem, on this issue.
On 20 February, Ofgem launched a consultation ‘Introducing a zero standing charge energy price cap variant’ - https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/consultation/introducing-zero-standing-charge-energy-price-cap-variant.
The consultation seeks views on the introduction of an option - within the price cap – for a tariff that does not have a standing charge, providing households with more choice over how they pay for their energy.
It also explores different ways a zero standing charge tariff could work, with options on a single unit rate, as well as block tariff options where the unit rates go up or down once a certain amount of energy is consumed.
The consultation closed on 20 March and we stand ready to continue work with Ofgem on this matter.