Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2024 to Question 17957 on Warm Home Discount Scheme, what steps she is able to take to ensure that the regional electricity areas with the highest levels of fuel poverty are adequately financially supported, in the context of no data being collated centrally on the number of households receiving Warm Home Discounts by regional electricity area.

The Warm Home Discount scheme is targeted to low-income households at risk of fuel poverty, providing a £150 rebate to eligible households. In England and Wales, the government sets the eligibility criteria and identifies households through data matching. In Scotland, the government identifies eligible low-income pensioners through data matching, meanwhile other low-income households in Scotland must apply to their energy supplier who can set their own criteria, subject to approval by Ofgem.

The government published official statistics for winter 2022/23 last year which showed, that across England, the distribution of rebates across regions is roughly consistent with the fuel poverty statistics for rates of fuel poverty. The government does not produce equivalent statistics for Scotland as fuel poverty is devolved and measured differently.