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 potential financial impact of changes to the eligibility criteria for the Warm Home Discount on people with disabilities who do not claim means-tested benefits.

Previously, households not in receipt of means-tested benefits would only be eligible for a Warm Home Discount rebate, if their energy suppliers set additional criteria for the Broader Group.

The Government has reformed the scheme in England and Wales from this winter. Households in receipt of means-tested benefits with high energy costs based on certain characteristics of their property will be eligible for the rebate. Around 62% of Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance recipients receive a means-tested benefit. Introducing non-means-tested benefits into the eligibility criteria would mean that many households on lower incomes would be disadvantaged.