Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 ensure that partner agencies promote the energy support to customers on pre-payment meters.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government works with all relevant suppliers, and charities, consumer groups and other stakeholders to communicate the Energy Bills Support Scheme and the importance of customers checking post, emails and text for prepayment meter vouchers and taking action to redeem them.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 average increase in energy costs of pubs; and if he will make assessment of the potential merits of providing further support to pubs in the context of energy costs.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government recognises these are difficult times for pubs and it will continue to provide support through the Energy Bill Discount Scheme once the Energy Bill Relief Scheme comes to an end on 31 March. The Government is also helping the industry, cutting business rates by 75% as well as a six-month extension to the alcohol duty freeze.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 ensure that hospices have sufficient funding to cover energy costs.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme provides a discount on the wholesale element of gas and electricity bills to ensure that all eligible charities, including hospices, are protected from high energy costs over the winter period. Following an HMT-led review, the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme, will run from April until March 2024 and will continue to provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers, including hospices. The new scheme strikes a balance between supporting businesses, charities and other non-domestic customer over the next 12 months and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets, with a cap set at £5.5 billion.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 allowing local NHS trusts to determine suitable minimum service levels for their respective services.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill will ensure crucial public services such as rail, ambulance services, and fire services maintain a minimum service during industrial action, reducing risk to lives and livelihoods.
The Department is conducting an economic impact assessment of the Bill. This will be published shortly.
The Bill also sets out a requirement that Departments must consult widely before making minimum service regulations in a relevant area.
The sectors to which this legislation will apply to are named in the Bill. This does not include the military or the police.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he is taking steps to ensure that energy companies conduct appropriate scrutiny of customers they propose to adopt energy pre-payment meters.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Oversight of energy suppliers is for the independent regulator Ofgem. As part of its market-wide Compliance Reviews into Consumers in Payment Difficulty and Vulnerability, Ofgem engaged with suppliers and sought action to improve processes on prepayment practices.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 applying the measures included within the Strike (Minimum Service Levels) Bill to the (a) military and (b) police.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill will ensure crucial public services such as rail, ambulance services, and fire services maintain a minimum service during industrial action, reducing risk to lives and livelihoods.
The Department is conducting an economic impact assessment of the Bill. This will be published shortly.
The Bill also sets out a requirement that Departments must consult widely before making minimum service regulations in a relevant area.
The sectors to which this legislation will apply to are named in the Bill. This does not include the military or the police.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 make it his policy to prevent energy companies from requiring customers to move onto energy pre-payment meters if those customers (a) do not have children, (b) are disabled or medically unwell and (c) are in a state of economic deprivation and have not provided consent.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Ofgem has rules in place that restrict the force-fitting of prepayment meters on consumers in vulnerable situations. Energy suppliers are required to follow specific processes before switching a customer to a prepayment meter. This includes considerations of whether a consumer’s vulnerability makes a prepayment meter a poor choice, for example where a consumer is ill or disabled. Ofgem requires all suppliers to provide a Priority Services Register for vulnerable consumers with additional, non-financial needs.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 ensure that Ofgem effectively scrutinises the practice of energy companies moving customers onto energy pre-payment meters.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Ofgem has extensive rules in place in relation to protecting prepayment meter customers. Suppliers may only install prepayment meters without consent (force-fitting) to recover debt as a last resort and Ofgem expects all other routes of debt recovery to have been exhausted before a supplier fits a prepay meter. Suppliers must make sure that whenever they install a prepayment meter, they verify that it is safe and reasonably practicable to do so, considering whether a consumer’s vulnerability makes a prepayment meter a poor choice, for example where medical equipment is required. This includes when switching a smart meter to prepayment mode.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies if minimum service levels agreed on strike days exceed those levels on non-strike days.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill will ensure crucial public services such as rail, ambulance services, and fire services maintain a minimum service during industrial action, reducing risk to lives and livelihoods.
The Department is conducting an economic impact assessment of the Bill. This will be published shortly.
The Bill also sets out a requirement that Departments must consult widely before making minimum service regulations in a relevant area.
The sectors to which this legislation will apply to are named in the Bill. This does not include the military or the police.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what comparative assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) strikes and (b) work to rule on potential level of disruption experienced by the services listed in his Strike (Minimum Service Levels) Bill.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill will ensure crucial public services such as rail, ambulance services, and fire services maintain a minimum service during industrial action, reducing risk to lives and livelihoods.
The Department is conducting an economic impact assessment of the Bill. This will be published shortly.
The Bill also sets out a requirement that Departments must consult widely before making minimum service regulations in a relevant area.
The sectors to which this legislation will apply to are named in the Bill. This does not include the military or the police.