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 reduce energy costs for consumers across the UK.

On 3 February, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a package of support worth £9.1 billion to help domestic energy customers with the costs of rising energy bills. This includes a £150 non-repayable Council Tax rebate in April 2022 to all households in Council Tax Bands A-D, and £144 million of discretionary funding for local authorities to support those not eligible for the Council Tax rebate.

To spread the cost of this year’s energy price shock over time, from October 2022 the Government will provide funding to all energy suppliers for them to pass a £200 reduction on to domestic electricity customers’ bills. This will be recouped through energy bills over five years from 2023.

Our exposure to volatile global gas prices underscores the importance of the Government’s plan to build a strong, home-grown renewable energy sector to further reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

Improving the energy efficiency of homes is the most effective way of permanently reducing the energy bills by reducing the amount of energy required to heat the home. It can also tackle fuel poverty in the long term. There are a number of schemes specifically targeting low income and fuel poor households to enable them to improve their energy efficiency including the Energy Company Obligation (‘ECO’) and Sustainable Warmth.