Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the impact of standing charges on household bills in Scotland.

The Government knows that, for many consumers, too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges. We are committed to lowering the cost of standing charges and have worked constructively with the regulator, Ofgem, on this issue.

Government recognises that this creates particularly high costs in the North of Scotland, which is why targeted support through the Hydro Benefit Replacement Scheme (HBRS) exists to reduce distribution charges. The scheme is funded by consumers across GB.

Ofgem have launched the Cost Allocation and Recovery Review (CARR) where they are looking at how to take a more holistic and fair approach to structuring energy bills. This includes looking at how costs are split between standing charges and unit rates, how different tariff structures could work, and how costs are shared across different types of consumers, including geographical differences.