Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to help tackle fuel poverty, in the context of the anticipated increase in the number of households who will be in fuel poverty in 2022.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has announced a package of additional measures to provide immediate support, totalling over £37 billion this year, including a £400 grant to households to help with their energy bills when it will be needed most.
Energy efficiency remains the best way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term, reducing the amount of energy required to heat a home and contributing to lower energy bills and carbon emissions. Support is available through schemes including the Energy Company Obligation which will be worth £1 billion pa, the Home Upgrade Grant and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure that funding through Industry Initiatives to provide a safeguard for disabled people with high energy costs as a result of their impairments does not place a higher administrative burden on disabled people than the Warm Home Discount.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Industry Initiatives provide valuable support to households in, or at risk of, fuel poverty through a range of measures, including energy advice, financial assistance, and energy efficiency improvements.
To date, energy suppliers have only been required to report on the overall spending on Industry Initiatives measures to Ofgem. From the 2022/23 scheme year, suppliers will be required to report on the estimated value and proportion of Industry Initiatives spending on fuel poor households where someone has a disability or significant health problems.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Government Response to the Warm Home Discount: Better targeted support from 2022 consultation, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the value and proportion of energy suppliers' spending through Industry Initiatives to support fuel poor disabled people.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Industry Initiatives provide valuable support to households in, or at risk of, fuel poverty through a range of measures, including energy advice, financial assistance, and energy efficiency improvements.
To date, energy suppliers have only been required to report on the overall spending on Industry Initiatives measures to Ofgem. From the 2022/23 scheme year, suppliers will be required to report on the estimated value and proportion of Industry Initiatives spending on fuel poor households where someone has a disability or significant health problems.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the effect of rising energy prices on the number of households in fuel poverty in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce fuel poverty levels in those areas.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The estimated projections for fuel poverty in England in 2022, can be found on gov.uk. The latest subregional statistics are for 2020. Projections are not made on a sub-regional level.
The Government sees energy efficiency as the best way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term. In Coventry, 25,277 measures have been installed under the Energy Company Obligation to December 2021. 11,467 measures were installed in Coventry North East.
The Midlands Energy hub successfully bid for the Sustainable Warmth Competition, receiving funding through: Home Upgrade Grant (approx £28million) and the Local Authority Delivery Scheme Phase 3 (approx. £54million). Coventry was a consortium member under this bid.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of retrospectively adding water efficiency measures to (a) Energy Company Obligation and (b) other existing domestic retrofit policies.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government’s proposals to help households across England use water more efficiently were announced last year by my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs[1].
The principle objectives of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme and other domestic retrofit schemes are to help alleviate fuel poverty, accelerate progress to meet targets, and contribute to carbon reduction targets in the domestic sector. ECO also aims to reduce the costs of meeting the UK’s renewable energy target through promoting more efficient energy use.
It is not within scope of ECO or other existing domestic retrofit policies to address water efficiency.
[1] https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-07-01/hcws140
Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has been made of the financial impact on individuals affected by the decision to remove support for disabled people through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
ECO4 has been designed to focus support on households with the lowest incomes and alleviate fuel poverty. This will include households with disabled people on the lowest incomes. The scheme is designed to improve the energy efficiency of homes, through the installation of insulation or heating measures. Households benefitting from improvements could save an average of £300 per annum.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether higher energy costs and usage experienced by disabled people are accounted for in his Department's 2030 fuel poverty target.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The fuel poverty target is to ensure that as many fuel poor homes, as is reasonably practicable, achieve a minimum energy efficiency rating of Band C, by 2030.
The 2030 target does not include estimates of energy costs, including estimates for any specific groups.
Improving the energy efficiency of homes is the best way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term, contributing to energy bill reductions. Disabled people living in low-income households may be eligible for support through energy efficiency schemes such as the Local Authority Delivery Scheme, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and the Energy Company Obligation.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the changes in support for disabled people through the Energy Company Obligation scheme, whether an assessment has been made of the impact on the finances of disabled people affected by this change.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
ECO4 has been designed to focus support on households with the lowest incomes and alleviate fuel poverty. This will include households with disabled people on the lowest incomes. The scheme is designed to improve the energy efficiency of homes, through the installation of insulation or heating measures. Households benefitting from improvements could save an average of £300 per annum.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department’s fuel poverty target numbers take into account the higher average energy costs and usage incurred by disabled people.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The fuel poverty target is to ensure that as many fuels poor homes as is reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency rating of Band C, by 2030. Its aim is to target energy efficiency support to low-income households.
The 2030 target does not include estimates of energy costs including what the energy costs will be for disabled people.
Progress against the target is reported on in the annual fuel poverty statistics, which can be found https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the decision to reduce support for disabled people through the Energy Company Obligation scheme, whether an assessment has been made of the impact on the finances of disabled people affected by this change.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The current Energy Company Obligation scheme, ECO4, has been designed to focus support on households with the lowest incomes and alleviate fuel poverty. This will include households with disabled people on the lowest incomes. The scheme is designed to improve the energy efficiency of homes, through the installation of insulation or heating measures, rather than provide a specific financial benefit.