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 higher price cap for pre-payment meters on (a) low income families and (b) people such as property guardians who are unable to change from a pre-payment meter.

Ofgem, as independent regulator, is responsible for setting the level of the price cap.

Protecting consumers, and especially vulnerable consumers, is a top priority of this government. To help people with the costs of energy, the Government has announced a package of support measures, including a £200 rebate for households delivered via their energy bill this autumn. This is in addition to other schemes like the Warm Home Discount which support the most vulnerable and low-income households. In addition, Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments are available to those in receipt of qualifying benefits.