Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies on support for fuel-poor households of the report by National Energy Advice of February 2017 entitled, In from the cold.

The Government has noted the paper presented by National Energy Action on February 13^th and will assess what the implications are for current policies. Government will consider this and other evidence provided by stakeholders as part of the design of any future fuel poverty schemes. In particular it will consider the views of the Committee on Fuel Poverty.

Government recently confirmed plans to reform the Energy Company Obligation, which is worth £640m per year. In 2017-18, 70% of the scheme will be directed at low income households. This represents an increase from £310m to £450m of funding per year. Energy companies are also required to provide over 2 million low income and vulnerable households with a £140 rebate off their energy bill each winter, under the Warm Home Discount Scheme, which is worth £320m per year.