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 impact of the report by Ofgem entitled Retail Market Review, published in 2013, on the cost of energy for low income energy consumers.

The 2013 Retail Market Review proposed a set of rules to make it easier for consumers to make better choices over their supply. Those aims were superseded in 2014 when Ofgem referred the energy markets to the Consumers and Markets Authority (CMA). As a result of this, Ofgem introduced a price cap for PPM customers. The Government introduced a market-wide price cap on all default tariffs to protect the least engaged consumers. The price cap provides protection to all consumers, including low-income households.

The Government is developing a new approach to consumer protection which will apply from April 2024.