Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to Prime Minister's press release of 18 August 2014, what steps she is taking to assess the impact of her Department's policies on the family.

The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014 through the publication of guidance for officials:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdf

The objective of the Test is to introduce a family perspective to the policy making process, specifically to make the potential impacts on family functioning and relationships explicit.

DECC has not applied the Test to date. DECC is working with the DWP to embed the Test in the policymaking process.

DECC does publish analysis of the estimated impacts of energy and climate change polices on household energy bills across different types of households showing that for each different household composition, energy bills are estimated to be lower on average as a result of these policies. [1] We will continue to consider the impacts on families where relevant, for example when implementing the fuel poverty strategy.

[1] DECC (2014) ‘Estimated impacts of energy and climate change policies on energy prices and bills’, available online at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/estimated-impacts-of-energy-and-climate-change-policies-on-energy-prices-and-bills-2014 Analysis refers to 2020.