Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Fuel Poverty

Tuesday 23 May 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • In 2022 there were an estimated 3.26 million households in fuel poverty in England.
  • The Government have applied a levy on energy companies and are launching a "Claim your energy voucher" day.
  • We have paid around half a typical household's energy bill through various schemes.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Kate Hollern Lab
Housing Energy
Context

The MP is concerned about recent estimates of families in fuel poverty.

Question

What recent estimate has the Department made of the number of families in fuel poverty?

Answer from Amanda Solloway

In 2022 there were an estimated 3.26 million households—13.4%—in fuel poverty in England.

Answered
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Q2 Sarah Owen Lab Luton North
Energy Benefits & Welfare
Context

The MP is concerned about energy companies' profits and families in fuel poverty.

Question

Recent figures show that energy companies such as Shell make £61,000 a minute. Meanwhile, there are 13,255 families in Luton living in fuel poverty. Pensioners with chronic health conditions risk their health due to unaffordable heating costs. Why has the Minister not extended windfall tax or closed loopholes?

Answer from Amanda Solloway

The Government have applied a levy on these energy companies. We are launching our “Claim your energy voucher” day on Thursday 31 May to ensure households claim their vouchers, particularly those on prepayment meters.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Extending windfall tax or closing loopholes

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Q3 Kate Hollern Lab
Energy Environment
Context

The MP is concerned about the Government's record on energy efficiency targets.

Question

The Environmental Audit Committee criticised the Government's energy efficiency target as vague and unspecific, with a poor record on energy efficiency. 16.6% of households in Blackburn are in fuel poverty. Is it true that the pace of energy efficiency under this government is too slow?

Answer from Amanda Solloway

We have paid around half a typical household's energy bill. Multiple schemes are in place targeted at the most in need, including the social housing decarbonisation fund, home upgrade grant and the energy company obligation scheme.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The pace of energy efficiency being too slow

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