Oral Answers to Questions

Simon Lightwood Excerpts

Tuesday 28th February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Simon Lightwood (Wakefield) (Lab/Co-op)]

8. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the rise in the energy price guarantee in April 2023 on levels of fuel poverty.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Amanda Solloway)]

The energy price guarantee has been supporting households and will continue to do so from April ’23 by limiting the amount that suppliers can charge per unit of energy used.

[Simon Lightwood]

The latest figures from 2020 show that, in parts of Lupset and Thornes in my constituency, more than two in five households were in fuel poverty. People are being left unable to heat their homes, have a shower or cook a hot meal. Since 2020, fuel poverty has continued to rise and the crisis has only got worse. Can the Minister explain to my constituents what is fair about those in fuel poverty facing even higher bills, when wholesale gas costs are falling and energy companies’ profits are continuing to rise?

[Amanda Solloway]

The Government announced in the autumn statement that the energy price guarantee will continue from April ’23. An analysis for 2022, which was published today, shows that 350,000 households in England were kept out of fuel poverty as a result of the support offered to households with energy bills.