Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of projected increases in the energy price cap on the number of households in fuel poverty in winter 2026/27.

Tackling the cost-of-living is the government’s top priority. Decisions at last year’s Budget have taken £150 of costs off bills and this is now factored into bills for the years to come. The increase in the price cap announced by Ofgem on 27^th May for the period from July to September is not what we wanted, and it is the effect of the war in Iran – just two days before the conflict the price cap fell by 7%. Without the action taken at Budget, the price cap from July to September, would be significantly higher. The government also expanded the Warm Home Discount last winter to support around 6 million of the most vulnerable households and is accelerating the Warm Homes Plan. Action has also been taken to help people who are reliant on heating oil. The outlook for prices remains uncertain but the government will do everything it can to help protect households in the face of this fossil fuel price spike and the Chancellor said she stands ready to act as we look towards the autumn and the winter