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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support households to improve their energy efficiency.

In the Clean Growth Strategy, the Government set an aspiration for as many homes as possible to be Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band C by 2035 and is developing a suite of mutually supporting policies and measures that will help deliver this:

Our current Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme and its successors will drive over £6bn of additional investment to support energy improvements in low-income, vulnerable and fuel poor households between 2018 and 2028. Government is currently considering what the objectives and overall ambition of a successor ECO scheme should be, from 2022 to 2026.

In order to improve rented properties, we introduced the Private Rented Sector Minimum standard regulations on 1?April 2018. The regulations require landlords to bring their properties to EPC Band E or above. We will consult on tightening the minimum energy standards in due course.

We have also committed to consult on requirements for mortgage lenders to help households improve the energy efficiency of the homes they lend to and last summer we launched the £5m Green Home Finance Innovation Fund to support the development of green finance products.

There are 21.5 million smart and advanced meters across Great Britain, as of the end of March 2020. As part of a smart meter installation, households are offered an In-Home Display which provides near-real time information on energy consumption and costs, enabling consumers to easily understand how they can use less energy and save money on their bills. Research shows that 73% of people with smart meters have taken steps to reduce their energy use.

In addition, we have launched Simple Energy Advice, a digital platform offering impartial and tailored advice for consumers on how to make their homes more energy efficient.