Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many people in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England and Wales are currently using third party deductions to help pay their energy bills; and what steps he is taking to ensure that customer energy prices fall in line with wholesale prices.

The information requested on third party deductions is shown in the table below.

In a competitive market, pricing decisions are a commercial matter for companies.

Consumers can put pressure on companies to reduce prices by switching to the best deal for them – Ofgem's Retail Market Reforms to deliver a simpler, clear market combined with Government's push to significantly reduce switching times and require suppliers to share consumer data with trusted third parties, should make this easier to do.

The Government supported Ofgem's recent move to write to the largest suppliers, challenging them to explain to consumers the impact of falling wholesale prices on their retail prices. Evidence that large suppliers raise prices more quickly when costs increase than they reduce prices when costs fall was one of the issues underpinning Ofgem's recent referral of the energy markets to the Competition and Markets Authority.

Number of claimants who currently have deductions under the third party deduction scheme for gas or electricity, by geography, as at November 2013

Source:

DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate, 5% Samples

Notes:

• Caseloads have been rounded to the nearest hundred
• The preferred statistics on benefits are now derived from 100% data sources. However, the 5% sample data still provide some detail not yet available from the 100% data sources. The proportions derived have been scaled up to the overall 100% total for each benefit therefore the data has to be shown separately as shown in the table.
• Figures below 500 are subject to a high degree of sampling error and should only be used as a guide.
• There is no data available in respect of deductions from Employment and Support Allowance.
• Some Income-based Jobseekers Allowance claimants may also have entitlement to benefit via the contributory route.
• '-' Denotes Nil or negligible.

Nottinghamshire data is the sum of the following local authorities: Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Broxtowe, Gedling, Mansfield, Newark & Sherwood and Rushcliffe