Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the impact of the withdrawal of the Warm Homes Discount on (a) people in receipt of disability benefits and (b) other vulnerable people.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I refer the hon. Member to the answer my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance gave on 17 April 2023 to Question HL7050.
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
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January to Question 9113, if she will take steps to further extend the eligibility for the warm home discount to cover more disabled households.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government reformed the Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales to standardise the criteria, provide the majority of rebates automatically, and focus the support to households in fuel poverty.
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. This winter we expect over 3 million households to receive the rebate, around a million more households compared with the previous scheme prior to winter 2022.
We recognise the cost-of-living challenges families are facing, which is why we are spending £104 billion supporting households with bills.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 the eligibility criteria for the Warm Home Discount for winter 2024-25.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
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. This winter we lowered the threshold for a property to be considered costly to heat and we expect over 3 million households to receive the rebate, around a million more households compared with the previous scheme prior to winter 2022.
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.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she is taking steps to provide support for for households who no longer qualify for the Warm Homes Discount due to changing eligibility criteria.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Following public consultation in the summer of 2021, the Government expanded and reformed the Warm Home Discount in England and Wales from 2022.
We reformed the scheme to standardise the criteria, provide the majority of rebates automatically, and focus the support on households in fuel poverty. We recognise the cost-of-living challenges families are facing, which is why we are spending £104 billion supporting households with bills.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Park Homes Warm Home Discount scheme, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the warm home discount to people living in supported accommodation.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Park Homes Warm Home Discount scheme is run by Charis Grants and is funded voluntarily by energy suppliers under the Industry Initiatives element of the Warm Home Discount scheme. The Park Homes scheme is intended to support fuel-poor households living in park homes who pay for their electricity to their site owner.
Energy suppliers can also provide additional support to households through Industry Initiatives, through measures such as financial assistance, debt write-off, and energy efficiency. This support can be provided to households, irrespective of whether a person is eligible for a rebate under the scheme.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many households have received funding from the Warm Home Discount Scheme in South Holland and The Deepings constituency in each year since 2019.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The number of households receiving warm home discount in 2022/23 under the core group is published for all parliamentary constituencies in Great Britain in Table 5 of the Warm Home Discount Statistics (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/warm-home-discount-statistics-2022-to-2023). Figures for earlier years are only available at national level.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
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 estimate of how many people living in supported accommodation are unable to access the warm home discount because their landlord is the utility customer.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Warm Home Discount scheme obligates participating energy suppliers to provide rebates to eligible customers. Under the scheme in Scotland, customers are eligible if they are either in receipt of the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit or meet the eligibility criteria set by their energy supplier.
Energy suppliers can support households through the Industry Initiatives element of the scheme, through measures such as financial assistance, debt write-off, and energy efficiency. This support can be provided irrespective of whether a person is named on the electricity bill.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the eligibility criteria for the Warm Home Discount Scheme.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government has reformed the Warm Home Discount in England and Wales to provide more rebates automatically and better target households in fuel poverty, who have low incomes and live in homes that are costly to heat. The Department’s official statistics for winter 2022/23 show that 95% of eligible households received an automatic rebate.
A three-year evaluation of the scheme will consider how successful the targeting is and the experience of beneficiaries.
In Scotland, low-income working-age households apply to their energy supplier for a rebate, which may set their own eligibility criteria, subject to approval by the scheme administrator, Ofgem.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will take steps to extend the warm home discount for disabled households.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government expanded and reformed the scheme in England and Wales from winter 2022/23 to better target households at risk of fuel poverty. The Government estimated in the final impact assessment that 160,000 more households, where a person has a disability or long-term illness, would receive a rebate as a result.
These changes have not applied in Scotland, where customers apply for a Broader Group rebate through their energy suppliers, who can set their own eligibility criteria.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the Warm Home Discount in line with the increases to the Ofgem price cap.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
From winter 2022 the Government extended and expanded the Warm Home Discount to support more households in fuel poverty, by increasing the spending envelope from £350m to £475m (in 2020 prices) and also raising the rebate to £150. This winter, we expect over 3 million households to receive the increased rebate.
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.