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 options available to his Department to ensure that people eligible for the Warm Home Discount receive it during the winter months.

The Government sets the spending target for each Warm Home Discount scheme year. However, energy suppliers are responsible for administering rebate payments to eligible customers’ accounts.

Energy suppliers generally start issuing Warm Home Discount rebates in October in a scheme year and have until 31 March to apply the rebate to eligible customers’ energy bills. The Government encourages energy suppliers to make rebate payments as soon as possible once they have completed the checks on customers’ eligibility. They may, however, provide rebates at any time before the 31 March deadline, with most rebates being provided to customers by January in a scheme year. These timings allow for the data matching process and eligibility checks to be undertaken and the delivery of over 2.2 million £140 rebates to vulnerable households when they need it most, around wintertime.

The Government consulted last summer on reforms to the scheme that would enable the vast majority of customers to receive their rebate automatically, without the need to apply. This would reduce the time needed to verify customers’ eligibility. The government will publish its response in the spring, with the reforms coming into force from the 2022/23 scheme year.