Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2024 to Question 19394 on Fuel Poverty, if she will take steps to extend the list of energy efficiency measures to include new technologies; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of extending that list on energy bills for low-income households.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Government energy efficiency schemes prioritise measures that have beneficial long-term effects on lowering bills and making homes more comfortable and affordable to live in, within the scope of the Standard Assessment Procedure model. The Government is currently developing the Home Energy Model which will replace the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP).
The current Energy Company Obligation schemes require eligible measures to result in a reduction in the cost of heating a consumer’s home. There are mechanisms for new measures to be eligible where they meet this and other scheme requirements. The potential impact of new measures on energy bill savings for low-income households would have to be assessed in relation to the specific new measures selected.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of including (a) LED lighting, (b) water efficiency devices and (c) other bill-saving technologies in the scope of (i) the Energy Company Obligation and (ii) other fuel poverty schemes.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Under current assessments, Government energy efficiency schemes prioritise measures that have beneficial long-term effects on lowering bills and making homes more comfortable and affordable to live in.
Current schemes allow the installation of measures which improve the energy performance of a dwelling within the scope of the “Standard Assessment Procedure” (SAP) – which assesses the energy performance of dwellings.
This can include measures such as solid wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, underfloor insulation, draught-proofing, air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, high heat retention storage heating, low energy lighting, solar PV, solar thermal and heating controls.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment she has made on the impact of rising energy prices on the number of households in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce fuel poverty levels in those areas.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Energy prices have fallen significantly since the winter of 2022-23. The Quarter 2 2024 price cap of £1,690 has fallen by nearly 60% since the Quarter 1 2023 price cap peak. Despite this fall in prices, we have been supporting millions of vulnerable and low income households through the £900 cost-of-living payments, alongside established financial support including the £150 Warm Home Discount.
There are also multiple targeted energy efficiency schemes in place delivering measures to low income and fuel poor households.
We are currently reviewing the 2021 fuel poverty strategy for England ‘Sustainable Warmth’.
Sub-regional fuel poverty estimates for 2022 will be published on 25th April 2024.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for her policies of trends in the level of fuel poverty since 2018.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Fuel Poverty is a devolved matter and the Department has responsibility for England.
The share of households in fuel poverty in England has reduced from 22% in 2010 to 13% in 2023, with energy efficiency being the key driver.
Other support includes the Warm Home Discount scheme which provides low-income and vulnerable households with a £150 rebate off their winter energy bill, which it is estimated took 248,000 English households out of fuel poverty in 2023.
The department is currently reviewing the 2021 fuel poverty strategy and is engaging with key stakeholders as part of this process.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing home insulation to low-income households who have have poorly insulated homes.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government considers energy efficiency as the best way to tackle fuel poverty, contributing to the long-term reduction of energy bills as well as reducing carbon emissions in line with Net Zero. There are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. Schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Great British Insulation Scheme and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to ensure that disabled people with higher energy usage are not in fuel poverty.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is providing £104 billion, including the Disability Cost of Living Payment, to support households with the cost of living. The government also expanded the Warm Home Discount, which we estimated would support 160,000 more households where a person has a disability or long-term illness. This has helped prevent a significant rise in fuel poverty, including for households living with disabilities.
We see energy efficiency improvements as the best way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term. Disabled people living in low-income households may be eligible for support through schemes such as the Energy Company Obligation.
The review of the Fuel Poverty Strategy will assess the vulnerability principle and whether any amendments are needed, including for households where an occupant has a disability.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made an estimate of the number of people living in fuel poverty in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire, (c) the North West and (d) England; and what steps she is taking to help tackle fuel poverty.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The latest official Fuel Poverty Statistics for England were published in February 2023 on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics#2022-Statistics
The latest statistics for the number of households in fuel poverty at administrative levels in England, are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-2022
Updated statistics on fuel poverty in England and its regions will be published on 15 February 2024.
The Government sees energy efficiency as a key way to tackle fuel poverty and measures are delivered through targeted schemes including the Energy Company Obligation.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department plans to take to (a) help support fuel poor homes to have an EPC rating of C or higher by 2030 and (b) incentivise landlords to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, in the context of the Government's commitment to scrap policies to force landlords to upgrade the energy efficiency of their properties as outlined in the press notice entitled PM recommits UK to Net Zero by 2050 and pledges a “fairer” path to achieving target to ease the financial burden on British families, published on 20 September 2023.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We see energy efficiency as the best way to tackle fuel poverty, contributing to the long-term reduction of energy bills and carbon emissions in line with Net Zero.
Multiple targeted schemes are in place to deliver measures to fuel poor households including the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4). The government is also reviewing the fuel poverty strategy.
We are spending £6bn this Parliament and a further £6bn to 2028 on making buildings, including private rented properties, cleaner and warmer. That is in addition to the estimated £5bn that will be delivered through ECO4 and the GB Insulation Scheme up to March 2026.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the 1 January 2024 Ofgem price cap increase on the number of households in fuel poverty.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has not yet assessed the potential impact of the Ofgem price cap increase on the number of fuel poor households. Updated fuel poverty estimates for England will be published in February.
The price cap announcement means prices will be lower than at the start of 2023.
The Government continues to provide targeted financial support to vulnerable households through the Cost of Living Payments, Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Weather Payment.
Multiple targeted energy efficiency schemes remain in place to deliver measures to fuel poor households including the Energy Company Obligation.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate her Department has made of the proportion of households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England that spent more than 10% of their income on energy costs in each of the last three years.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The latest official Fuel Poverty Statistics for England were published in February 2023 on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics#2022-Statistics
In addition to reporting against the official fuel poverty metric for England, these statistics included an affordability measure of the number of households required to spend more than 10 per cent of their income on domestic energy. These can be found in Annex D: Affordability measures for England, of the annual report.
Affordability measure estimates are not held at sub-national level. Figures are available at sub-national level for fuel poverty under the Low-income Low energy efficiency (LILEE) metric, on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-2023-2021-data