Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of replacing the standing charge on household energy bills with a measure based on usage.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Although standing charges are a commercial matter for suppliers, and are regulated by Ofgem, we know that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on them. The Government has worked constructively with the regulator on the issue of standing charges, and we are committed to lowering the cost of them.
Ofgem’s proposal to move some operational costs from standing charges to unit rates would see low-income households’ overall bills reduced on average, but we are mindful of the distributional effects of changes to standing charges, particularly on vulnerable consumers.
Ofgem’s recently published discussion paper sets out the options for how standing charges could be reduced, including by moving some supplier operational costs off standing charges onto the unit rate, increasing the variety of tariffs available for consumer in the market, and in the longer term, reviewing how system costs are allocated. Ofgem's publication can be found here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/call-for-input/standing-charges-domestic-retail-options.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will meet with Ofgem to discuss the potential merits of reducing the energy price cap for winter 2024-25.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Energy Price Cap is set by Ofgem and there are different costs included in the price cap, such as the wholesale cost of energy. Any changes to these costs will affect how much the price cap will be each time it is reviewed, and the main driver of the price cap increase for the period 1 October to 31 December 2024 was an increase in wholesale energy prices.
As such, the Government believes the only way to protect consumers permanently is to speed up the transition towards homegrown clean energy and reduce our reliance on volatile international fossil fuel markets.
Whilst we make this transition to clean power by 2030, the Government is committed to ensuring vulnerable households are supported with their energy bills. We are looking at all options on how to make energy bills more affordable for these households.
In the short-term, we are continuing to deliver the Warm Home Discount which provides a £150 annual rebate on energy bills for eligible low-income households. We are also working with energy suppliers to ensure they are providing additional support to vulnerable customers that are struggling with bills
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans has he to support pensioners with the cost of energy in (a) City of Durham and (b) County Durham.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to supporting all consumers, including pensioners in the City of Durham and County Durham. We believe that the only way to protect billpayers permanently and to guarantee our energy security is to speed up our transition away from volatile, foreign, fossil fuel markets towards clean homegrown energy.
In the short-term, we are continuing to deliver the Warm Home Discount which provides a £150 rebate off energy bills to eligible low-income households. In August, I met with energy suppliers to discuss additional support they can provide this winter and we are working together to ensure vulnerable consumers, including pensioners, are supported this winter.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to meet with the Durham Miners' Association to discuss the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Scheme Rules and their operation are agreed between the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme Trustees and the Government. I will be meeting the Trustees shortly to discuss how best to deliver on our manifesto commitments.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) former miners and (b) former miners' widows are in receipt of a mineworkers' pension in (i) City of Durham constituency and (ii) the North East of England.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As at June 2023, there were 756 Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme members in the City of Durham constituency and 17,483 members overall in the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme North East of England. The breakdown between former miners and widows is not available.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much his Department has received from the (a) Mineworkers' Pension Scheme and (b) British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme since 1994.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As of today, the Government has received £4.8bn from the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme and £3.1bn from the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme since 1994.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to take steps to (a) provide Gypsies and Travellers living on roadside encampments with support through Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding and (b) work with (i) Traveller Liaison Officers and (ii) other Local Authorities Officers to confirm the eligibility of those people for that scheme.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
After stakeholder engagement sessions and research exercises, the government has been unable to establish a robust method for households in caravans not on permanent sites to prove that their caravan is their main or sole residence, whilst protecting public funds against fraud.
We recommend that these households should contact their local authority to apply for the Housing Support Fund and also visit the ‘Help for Households’ webpage on GOV.UK to view what other support they may be eligible to receive - https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) Gypsies and (b) Travellers living on Traveller sites have (i) applied for and (ii) received an Alternative Fuels Payment.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Government do not hold the data requested.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will publish disaggregated data on the number of Gypsies and Travellers living on sites who have (a) applied for and (b) received the Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding payment since the scheme was introduced.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
As of 11th July 2023, the cumulative number of those who self-declared as travellers (fixed) that had applied for the Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding (GB & NI) was 12,040, of whom 8,120 had received their payment for the support.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the level of standing charges on (a) low income and (b) other vulnerable households.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
How suppliers choose to set the standing charge and unit rate is a commercial decision. However, the energy price cap sets a limit on unit rates and standing charges, ensuring that millions of households pay a fair price for their energy.
In August 2022, Ofgem reviewed the components of the standing charge to see if they could be reduced. Ofgem concluded that, if the methodology for the standing charge were to change, there are numerous high consuming, vulnerable users, such as disabled users, who would pay more. Therefore, retaining the current methodology protects vulnerable users with greater energy needs.