Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the number of people on Universal Credit who are no longer eligible for the Warm Homes Discount following the changes to eligibility in 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
As households on Universal Credit previously applied through their suppliers, who set their own application processes and eligibility criteria and selected successful applicants each year, the Government has not been able to assess how many households are no longer eligible.
In England and Wales, over 770,000 households in receipt of Universal Credit were identified as eligible to receive a rebate automatically. Additionally, the Government has contacted potentially eligible households that could not be provided with the rebate automatically. They may become eligible if they contact the Warm Home Discount helpline.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of people living in houses with an Energy Performance Certificate score of D or below who are no longer eligible for the warm homes discount following changes to eligibility in 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
As households previously applied through their suppliers, who set their own application processes and eligibility criteria and selected successful applicants each year, the Government has not been able to assess how many households are no longer eligible.
The Government does not have data available on eligibility by Energy Performance Certificate energy rating.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has been made of the number of people living in terraced houses who are no longer eligible for the warm homes discount following the changes to eligibility in 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
As households previously applied through their suppliers, who set their own application processes and eligibility criteria and selected successful applicants each year, the Government has not been able to assess how many households are no longer eligible.
3.9 million terraced properties in England and Wales were calculated as having a low energy cost score using property characteristic data from the Valuation Office Agency. Although 3.0 million had a high energy cost score, not all of the households living in these properties will be eligible, for instance if they do not meet the low-income criteria or were not named on the participating energy supplier’s electricity bill or account.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2022 to Question 104179 on Energy Bills Rebate, what steps he will take against businesses that are not passing on the discount from the Energy Bills Support Scheme to non-domestic customers with private wire electricity networks.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding will provide support of £400 for energy bills for around 900,000 households without a direct relationship with a domestic electricity supplier. This is expected to include households on private wire networks. On 19th December 2022, the Government announced that the application portal for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding is due to open later in January, with a dedicated customer helpline available to assist customers without online access.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of total spending on the Energy Bill Support Scheme in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands, (c) Birmingham.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bills Support Scheme is an £11.7bn scheme which forms part of the £37bn cost-of-living assistance package announced in May 2022. The Department will publish location data shortly.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the mechanism for energy companies passing on Energy Bill Support Scheme payments to their customers.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bills Support Scheme is delivering, via suppliers, a £400 non-repayable government discount in six instalments from October to March to help with energy bills this winter. 29 million households in GB are eligible. The Government is closely monitoring the scheme’s delivery and requires suppliers to report to Government monthly. Most recent data shows 97% of the payments due have gone out.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure that energy companies pass on Energy Bills Support Scheme payments to their customers.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bills Support Scheme is delivering, via suppliers, a £400 non-repayable government discount in six instalments from October to March, to help with energy this winter. 29 million households are eligible. The Government is closely monitoring the scheme’s delivery, and requires suppliers to report to monthly. The most recent data shows 97% of the payments due have been issued.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of people who did not receive their Energy Bills Support Scheme payments in October and November 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
As of 1 November, 97% of customers received their Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. The Department will publish data for November shortly.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether people living in residential flats that use (a) heat networks and (b) private wire electricity networks will receive the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding will provide support of £400 for energy bills for the small minority of households who will not be reached through the EBSS. This includes those who do not have a domestic electricity meter or a direct relationship with an energy supplier, including heat network consumers on a private wire system. Heat network consumers who have a domestic electricity meter will receive a £400 reduction in their energy bills through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.
The Government is working urgently with a range of organisations, such as local authorities, as well as Devolved Administrations and across UK Government, to finalise the details for these households and have the process up and running for applications this winter.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether residential flats that use private wire electricity networks will be included in the support provided by the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.
Answered by Graham Stuart
A landlord may be eligible for a reduction in energy bills under the Energy Bill Relief Scheme if they are on a non-domestic energy contract and meet the scheme eligibility criteria. Landlords and other intermediaries must pass the benefits of the scheme onto their tenants in a reasonable and proportionate way. This will help ensure homes and businesses are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period.