Asked by: Jill Mortimer (Conservative - Hartlepool)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his planned timetable is for bringing forward legislative proposals on protecting access to cash.
Answered by John Glen - Shadow Paymaster General
The government recognises that cash remains an important part of daily life for millions of people across the UK, and remains committed to legislating to protect access to cash.
From 1 July to 23 September last year, the government held the Access to Cash Consultation on proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash. The government’s proposals intend to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities.
The government received responses to the consultation from a broad range of respondents, including individuals, businesses, and charities. The government has carefully considered responses to the consultation and will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Jill Mortimer (Conservative - Hartlepool)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his proposed energy bills rebate on households with prepayment energy meters.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Domestic energy customers will receive the discount regardless of their type of payment method. There are a number of different options for those on pre-payment meters to receive the £200 reduction on their energy bills this autumn.
37 per cent of pre-payment customers have remotely accessible smart meters and therefore will be able to receive the smoothing reduction automatically. For the 63 per cent who do not have remotely accessible smart meters (2.6 million households, or less than 10 per cent of overall households), they can receive their reduction via either a voucher issued via email/post, a Special Action Message (SAM) to outlets where a customer normally tops up, or via a cheque in the post. The Coalition Government took the same approach with their Electricity Rebate Scheme in 2013.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will work closely with industry and consumer groups on how best to deliver this policy, including through a public consultation in the Spring.