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 implications for his policies of the statement by the chief executive of Energy UK on 3 March 2022 that household energy bills could be anywhere between £2500 and £3000 in October 2022.

The Government recognises the difficult position that many households are in with the impact of rising energy prices. The rising energy tariffs that consumers may be experiencing is largely driven by increases in wholesale gas prices worldwide.

In order to help people with the costs of energy, the Government has announced a package of support measures:

• A £200 rebate for households delivered via their energy bill this autumn, paid back automatically over the next 5 years, spreading the increased costs of global prices over time in a way that is more manageable for households.

• A £150 non-repayable reduction in Council Tax bills for all households in Bands A-D in England.

• £144 million of discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support households who need support but are not eligible for the Council Tax reduction.

Additionally, the Energy Price Cap will remain in place at least till the end of 2022 to protect 22 million customers on default tariffs and ensure they pay a fair price for their energy.