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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on the potential number of eligible claimants for the warm homes discount scheme that have been contacted by a third party using data shared with them as part of that scheme; how his Department monitors the use made of information given to such third parties; and how many complaints his Department has received on such contacts.

The Warm Home Discount scheme uses a secure data share between the Department for Work and Pensions and participating energy suppliers in order to deliver direct assistance with energy bills each winter to eligible households.

Suppliers already hold data on customers’ names and addresses - the only additional information they receive under the secure data share for the Warm Home Discount is which of their customers are eligible for the rebate. The Regulations under Section 142 of the Pensions Act 2008[1] only allow suppliers to use the information they obtain through the data share to provide energy bill rebates or defined relevant assistance such as energy efficiency advice and measures.

The regulations make it an offence to disclose the information without lawful authority. Any transfer and storage of personal data by the energy suppliers would also be subject to the requirements of the Data Protection Act. Energy suppliers are required (under contract) to demonstrate that they have secure measures in place for the handling, transferring and deletion of the personal data that has been supplied to them under the secure data share.

In addition, individuals are able to ‘opt out’ of the data share for the Warm Home Discount scheme, meaning that DWP would not share any state pension credit information on that individual with energy suppliers. For Scheme Year 6 (this year), six people have formally taken up this option.

There is a formal complaints procedure in place between BEIS, DWP and Serco, who manage the WHD contact centre. No complaints of this nature have been made under this complaints procedure against energy suppliers.

[1] The Disclosure of State Pension Credit Information (Warm Home Discount) Regulations 2011