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 with cancer will qualify for the Government's proposed energy industry fund for low income disabled people at risk of fuel poverty.
The Warm Home Discount is a key policy in the Government’s strategy to tackle fuel poverty. As announced in the Energy White Paper, the Government has consulted on reforming the scheme to better target fuel poverty and to provide the rebates automatically to households. The reforms include focusing support on households in receipt of qualifying means-tested benefits and with high energy costs.
However, some households currently eligible for a rebate would lose out. Recognising that some disabled people and people with long-term illness may not be eligible for a rebate and yet are struggling with the costs of heating their homes, the Government has proposed to work with energy suppliers and third-party organisations to provide alternative financial support to low-income disabled people at risk of fuel poverty under the Industry Initiatives element of the scheme and subject to sufficient interest from energy suppliers.
The Government will publish its response to the consultation in the spring, with the reforms coming into force from the 2022/23 scheme year.