Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government is planning to provide any further support with fuel and utility costs for people working from home throughout the covid-19 outbreak.

From 6 April 2020 employers have been able to pay employees up to £6 a week tax-free to cover additional costs to their household bills if they have been told to work from home to stop the spread of Covid-19. On 1 October 2020 HMRC launched a new online portal for employed workers whose expenses have not been covered to apply for tax relief for additional expenses from home-working.

In addition, emergency measures with the energy industry have been agreed by the Government to protect the domestic energy supply of those most in need during the disruption caused by COVID-19. In the first instance, any energy customer in financial distress should get in touch with their supplier. Suppliers can then assist customers appropriately. This could include debt repayments and bill payments being reassessed, reduced or paused where necessary. Disconnection of credit meters have also been completely suspended.

The energy price cap currently protects around 11 million households in Great Britain on standard variable and default tariffs. From January 2021 a further 4 million households with prepayment meters will also come under the protection of the cap after the prepayment meter price cap expires. The cap ensures that loyal energy customers are protected from poor value tariffs, saving consumers a total of around £1 billion on their bills annually.