Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the role of (a) local advice services and (b) voluntary organisations in supporting vulnerable households with energy bills; and what steps he is taking to ensure those services are adequately funded.

We understand that local advice services and the voluntary sector play an important role in supporting vulnerable households with their energy costs and the Government is working with local authorities, charities and frontline services to make every contact count through more holistic advice and integrated referrals.

The statutory organisations helping the vulnerable with energy bills consult annually on their work programme including the support provided by the Extra Help Unit for those facing disconnection. The Government annually approves a levy that recovers the costs of the statutory advice and advocacy organisations such as Citizens Advice and the EHU which play a vital role in supporting vulnerable energy consumers.

We have made no assessment of the effectiveness of Local Citizens Advice offices, but they have access to information provided to the national organisations. These offices are independently run charities funded through a mix of local authority commissioning, charitable income, and central government support, with councils playing a key role in funding local advice provision.