Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the delivery of the Energy Bill Support Scheme for prepayment customers.

The Government is monitoring effectiveness of the scheme closely, including receiving monthly data from energy suppliers. 4,044,554 vouchers were issued to 1 December. The latest figures were published on gov.uk on 20 December. Redemption of vouchers issued to traditional prepayment meter customers rose from 59% in October to 72% in November.

The Government requires suppliers to evidence that they have attempted to make a minimum of three attempts by more than one method to contact customers who have not redeemed a voucher.

Customers with smart prepayment meters receive the discount credited directly to their meter by their supplier.