Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
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 adequacy of the recent performance of the Energy Ombudsman.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has regular discussions with Ofgem on a range of issues. Ofgem is required to review the performance of the Energy Ombudsman on a biennial basis to ensure it still meets the approval criteria under which it was appointed. The Department also sought views on the role of the Energy Ombudsman in the Ofgem Review Call for Evidence, which closed earlier this year.
On 19 June the Government announced that we will consult on strengthening the Energy Ombudsman to ensure that suppliers comply with its final decisions or pay compensation to their consumer. This consultation will also look at introducing automatic referrals to the Ombudsman instead of consumers having to do this themselves, and also to explore the reduction of referral waiting times from 8 weeks to 4 weeks.
We hope that these changes will ensure that consumers can access the free Energy Ombudsman service quicker and easier and help any customer who has received a poor quality service from their supplier to receive the compensation and resolution they deserve.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions his Department has had with Ofgem on the performance of the Energy Ombudsman.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has regular discussions with Ofgem on a range of issues. Ofgem is required to review the performance of the Energy Ombudsman on a biennial basis to ensure it still meets the approval criteria under which it was appointed. The Department also sought views on the role of the Energy Ombudsman in the Ofgem Review Call for Evidence, which closed earlier this year.
On 19 June the Government announced that we will consult on strengthening the Energy Ombudsman to ensure that suppliers comply with its final decisions or pay compensation to their consumer. This consultation will also look at introducing automatic referrals to the Ombudsman instead of consumers having to do this themselves, and also to explore the reduction of referral waiting times from 8 weeks to 4 weeks.
We hope that these changes will ensure that consumers can access the free Energy Ombudsman service quicker and easier and help any customer who has received a poor quality service from their supplier to receive the compensation and resolution they deserve.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
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 extending eligibility for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to include property developers seeking to install air source heat pumps into new builds.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is primarily designed to support property owners to replace fossil fuel heating systems in existing properties (retrofits). New builds (with the exception of self-builds) are therefore excluded from the scheme.
However, new standards will be brought in that ensure new homes and buildings are fit for a net zero future. Gas boilers will not meet the proposed standard for new homes, meaning low-carbon heating like heat pumps will become the new default. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will publish specifications in due course.