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 is taking fiscal steps with Cabinet colleagues to support (a) housing associations and (b) tenants with the cost of gas and electricity for communal spaces in (i) sheltered, (ii) extra care and (iii) nursing homes.

Communal residential spaces may be under a commercial energy contract, covered by the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS). This provides a price reduction to ensure that eligible businesses, charities and public sector organisations are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. If the communal area is covered by a domestic energy contract, it may be eligible for the Energy Bill Support Scheme. An intermediary that will or has received support from any of the above schemes is required to pass support on to end-users in a just and reasonable way.