Energy Bills Support

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 18 Jan 2023 Closed: 24 Sep 2023 Parliament page
In September 2022 Government announced the Energy Price Guarantee Scheme and Energy Bill Relief Scheme in response to the energy price crisis. Following on from work done by the National Audit Office on Energy bill support , the Committee will question senior officials at the Department for Business, Energy and … Read more
3 Recommendations
25 Conclusions
1 Report
2 Oral sessions
5 Letters
2 Events
Activity timeline 11 events
24 Sep
2023
Report published
7 Sep
2023
Correspondence
16 Jun
2023
Report published
17 Apr
2023
Correspondence
17 Apr
2023
Correspondence
28 Mar
2023
Correspondence
21 Mar
2023
Correspondence
27 Feb
2023
Oral evidence
27 Feb
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
23 Feb
2023
Oral evidence
23 Feb
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions
27 Feb 2023
View on parliament.uk
Energy bills support
James Bowler CB · HM Treasury Jeremy Pocklington CB · Ministry of Defence Jonathan Mills · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Phil Duffy · HM Treasury Sarah Munby · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
23 Feb 2023
View on parliament.uk
Energy bills support pre-panel
Andy Manning · Citizens Advice Dhara Vyas · Energy UK Kate Nicholls · UK Hospitality Paul Wilson · Federation of Small Businesses
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fifty-Eighth Report - Energy bills support HC 1074 16 Jun 2023 28 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
5 results
Clear
1 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Eighth Report - Energy bills…
Committee took evidence on energy bills support from various stakeholders.
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (The Department)2, the Former Permanent Secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), … Read more
Government Response
The government highlights the £40 billion spent on energy support and notes it is learning lessons for future schemes. It is continuing to explore options for supporting consumers from April 2024 by improving the retail energy market and consumer standards.
HM Treasury
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7 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Eighth Report - Energy bills…
Off-grid homes and businesses experienced delays in receiving alternative fuel support.
Some off-grid homes and businesses had to wait longer to receive support compared to the schemes to support consumers connected to the energy grid. The Department started delivering payments through the non-domestic Alternative Fuel Payment Scheme in February 2023. On … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the observation, highlighting its swift action and the inherent complexity of reaching off-grid households, and is now seeking to learn lessons for future scheme delivery.
HM Treasury
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8 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Eighth Report - Energy bills…
Delays in alternative fuel support disproportionately impacted Northern Ireland due to higher usage.
The delays to introducing support schemes for customers who use alternative fuels had a greater impact on consumers in Northern Ireland because of the higher percentage of consumers that use these fuels. More than two-thirds (68%) of households in Northern … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the observation, explaining its swift action and the complexities of support delivery, and states it is seeking to learn lessons for future schemes, noting that support in Northern Ireland was delivered via a single cash payment with high uptake.
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Eighth Report - Energy bills…
Delays experienced in providing energy bill support to off-grid and rural households.
We asked the Department what were the causes of other delays in getting support to customers. The Former Permanent Secretary told us that, in terms of operational challenges, the most difficult schemes were those where people were being asked to … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the observation, outlining its swift actions and the inherent complexity of delivering support, particularly for application-based schemes, and is seeking to learn lessons for future delivery.
HM Treasury
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10 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fifty-Eighth Report - Energy bills…
Complexity of universal energy support schemes delayed aid for vulnerable consumers.
The Department told us that an important lesson it had learnt from the schemes was the complexity in implementing a universal scheme to reach all energy consumers living under different circumstances. The Former Permanent Secretary explained that the Department did … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the observation, acknowledging the complexity of reaching all consumers and that lessons learned are informing planning for future support, with the department seeking to learn lessons on delivery and communications.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 28 of 3 classified
Accepted 18
Acknowledged 5
Deferred 3
Not Addressed 1
Rejected 1
Total 3 recs + 25 conclusions
Correspondence 5 letters
7 Sep 2023 Correspondence from James Bowler, Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury, re Additional information: Recommendation 4a Forty-eighth Report of Session 2022-23 (Energy Bills Support), dated 14 August 2023
Parliament page
17 Apr 2023 Correspondence from Jeremy Pocklington CB, Permanent Secretary, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, re Energy Bills Discount Scheme, dated 28 March 2023
Parliament page
17 Apr 2023 Correspondence from Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, Secretary of State, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, re Contingent Liability Notification: Energy Bills Discount Scheme, dated 27 March 2023
Parliament page
28 Mar 2023 Correspondence from James Bowler, Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury, re follow up to question raised at the Public Accounts Committee on Energy Bills Support on 27 February 2023, dated 16 March 2023
Parliament page
21 Mar 2023 Correspondence from Jeremy Pocklington CB, Permanent Secretary, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, re Energy Bills Support, dated 10 March 2023
Parliament page