Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding eligibility for the Warm Home Discount in the next scheme year.

From winter 2022 the Government extended the Warm Home Discount to support more households in fuel poverty, who have low incomes and live in homes that are costly to heat. For winter 2023/24 we lowered the threshold for a property to be considered costly to heat and we expect over 3 million households to have received the rebate. The official WHD statistics for 2023/24 will be published on 20^th June.

As the scheme is funded by participating energy suppliers, we have struck a balance between supporting as many households as possible, providing meaningful support, and limiting the impact on wider consumer bills.

Energy prices have significantly fallen in the past year. We are continuing to monitor the situation and will keep options under review, including with respect to the most vulnerable households.

In addition, the Government produced impact assessments for the consultation in 2021 on expanding and reforming the Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales and for the publication of the Government Response in 2022, which are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/warm-home-discount-better-targeted-support-from-2022