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89915

	registered interest
	date	01/09/2014
	answering body	Department for Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept id	63
	answering dept short name	Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept sort name	Energy and Climate Change
	hansard heading	Energy: Prices
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to encouraging energy companies to use income-differentiated tariffs as a means of addressing fuel poverty.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL1757
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2014 answer text <p>Energy suppliers provide direct bill support for low income households through the Government’s Warm Home Discount scheme. <del class="ministerial">As the original impact assessment for the scheme made clear, the scheme grew in part out of a concern about affordability of energy bills and accessibility of appropriate tariffs for those on low incomes. The scheme is now hugely successful.</del> <del class="ministerial">This year the</del> <ins class="ministerial">The </ins>Warm Home<ins class="ministerial">s</ins> Discount will<ins class="ministerial"> increase to</ins> give eligible low-income bill payers £140 money off their energy bills, helping over 2 million people including 1.4 million of Britain’s most vulnerable pensioners.</p><p>There has been consideration of the role of differentiated tariffs as part of the Hills Review of Fuel Poverty, and in the development of Fuel Poverty: Framework for future action and Cutting the cost of keeping warm, the consultation to prepare for a new fuel poverty strategy.</p><p>We continue to monitor the impacts of the Ofgem’s Retail Market Review and wider Government action to ensure consumers are treated fairly in the energy market and are better able to the choose a deal that suits them. We expect to keep the case for further action under review as part of this.</p> answering member printed Baroness Verma question first answered 08/09/2014 08:09:35 question first ministerially corrected 15/09/2014 12:14:23 answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma previous answer version 18278 answering member printed Baroness Verma answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

93733

	registered interest
	date	16/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept id	63
	answering dept short name	Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept sort name	Energy and Climate Change
	hansard heading	Energy: Prices
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the outcomes of the round-table discussions convened by Ofgem over the summer with suppliers, consumer representatives, parliamentarians and the Government, particularly in relation to addressing the higher fuel costs imposed by pre-payment meters.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL2157
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2014 answer text <p>Ofgem will host a round-table event on the afternoon of 29 October on price differences between various payment methods for domestic consumers of electricity and gas. The event follows an open letter published by Ofgem on 20 May that set out the findings to a request for information to suppliers on the prices they charge consumers for different payment methods, including prepayment:</p><p><a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/87924/openletterfinalrepublished.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/87924/openletterfinalrepublished.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Verma question first answered 23/10/2014 16:22:38 answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

89914

	registered interest
	date	01/09/2014
	answering body	Department for Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept id	63
	answering dept short name	Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept sort name	Energy and Climate Change
	hansard heading	Energy: Meters
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to encouraging the six largest energy companies to develop and use their own vulnerability checklist as part of a comprehensive assessment process to help determine a household's circumstances before any new pre-payment meters are installed, in accordance with the voluntary code agreed with Consumer Focus in March 2011.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL1756
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2014 answer text <p>All the large suppliers have agreed to the 5 key principles set out by Consumer Focus in March 2011. This includes a check of whether a customer is vulnerable before installation of a prepayment meter and offering a different payment method if appropriate. In the 2012 report “Making Progress” Consumer Focus found that most large suppliers use a checklist to help staff identify the best approach. This report is available at this link: <a href="http://www.consumerfutures.org.uk/files/2013/07/Making-progress.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.consumerfutures.org.uk/files/2013/07/Making-progress.pdf</a></p><p>Government supports initiatives to ensure that vulnerable pre-payment customers are being treated fairly and receiving appropriate support and is considering areas where Government action could further improve the consumer experience of pre-payment customers.</p> answering member printed Baroness Verma question first answered 15/09/2014 11:48:30 answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

89916

	registered interest
	date	01/09/2014
	answering body	Department for Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept id	63
	answering dept short name	Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept sort name	Energy and Climate Change
	hansard heading	Energy: Meters
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will work with energy companies to ensure that those using pre-payment meters pay the equivalent tariffs to those paying by direct debit, irrespective of whether smart meters are installed.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL1758
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2014 answer text <p>Energy supplier licence conditions, set by Ofgem, allow suppliers to apply different charges to different payment methods providing the differentials reflect the costs to the supplier of the form of payment. This allowance is made in recognition of the fact that some payment methods are more expensive to administer than others. In May 2014, Ofgem published the results of analysis on this issue which showed that across the market the price on different payment methods reflects the varying costs suppliers face in providing them. This is available at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/price-differences-between-payment-methods-&amp;ndash;-open-letter" target="_blank">https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/price-differences-between-payment-methods-–-open-letter</a>.</p> answering member printed Baroness Verma question first answered 15/09/2014 11:47:31 answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma attachment 1 file name QWA HL1758 - Open letter from Ofgem 20.05.14.pdf title Ofgem open letter 20.05.14 - Price differences
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

79798

	registered interest
	date	30/07/2014
	answering body	Department for Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept id	63
	answering dept short name	Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept sort name	Energy and Climate Change
	hansard heading	Energy: Meters
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the use of prepayment meters on the ability of lower income households to pay their energy bills.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL1687
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Since 2010, all major suppliers have voluntarily equalised tariffs between prepayment customers and standard credit customers but the price differential between customers using pre-payment meters (PPM) and those paying by direct debit can be more than £100 for a dual-fuel customer.</p><p>Whilst paying by PPM is more common among fuel poor than non-fuel poor households, a majority of fuel poor customer pay by other payment methods.</p><p>Of households who were fuel poor in England in 2012, around 27% paid for their electricity and 22% paid for their gas through PPM.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Northover question first answered 18/08/2014 09:39:50 answering member 2539 label Biography information for Baroness Northover
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

79799

	registered interest
	date	30/07/2014
	answering body	Department for Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept id	63
	answering dept short name	Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept sort name	Energy and Climate Change
	hansard heading	Energy: Meters
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to encourage the six major energy companies to adhere to the five principles on the use of prepayment meters which were agreed with Consumer Focus in March 2011.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL1688
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p>In July 2012, Consumer Focus released a report, ‘Making Progress’ which found that suppliers have all made changes to their policies and processes following their agreement to the 5 Key Principles that Consumer Focus set out in March 2011.</p><p>We know that issues relating to prepayment meters (PPM) remain of broad concern for consumers. The roll out of smart metering should greatly improve the customer experience for prepayment customers. In April 2014, the Secretary of State wrote to suppliers challenging them to ensure that from the end of 2016 current ‘normal’ PPM are replaced only with Smart Meters and offer Smart Meters with ‘pay as you go tariff’ options to all PPM customers by the end of 2016. We will continue to work with suppliers and stakeholders to ensure that PPM customers can benefit from smart meter roll out as soon as possible.</p> answering member printed Baroness Northover question first answered 18/08/2014 09:39:23 answering member 2539 label Biography information for Baroness Northover
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

61939

	registered interest
	date	16/06/2014
	answering body	Department for Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept id	63
	answering dept short name	Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept sort name	Energy and Climate Change
	hansard heading	Energy Supply
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress was made towards improving the security and affordability of off-grid fuel supply at the third ministerial roundtable meeting on heating oil and liquid petroleum gas supply on 21 May.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL357
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2014 answer text <p>My rt. hon. Friend the Minister of State for Energy chaired the third Ministerial Roundtable meeting on heating oil and LPG supply on 21 May. My rt. hon Friend the Minister of State for Climate Change joined the roundtable discussion on off gas grid fuel poor households and support for off gas grid consumers. This continued the useful discussions government has had at the previous two Roundtables with representatives from industry, consumer groups, oil buying groups and others on how to improve heating oil and LPG supply to UK consumers.</p><p>Issues covered at the third roundtable included the promotion of the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers' Customer Charter, the messaging to consumers on buying oil early ahead of the winter and an update on the action government is taking more broadly to help fuel poor off-grid households. Full details of the meeting can be found in the minutes of the meeting which has been placed in the Library of the House.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Verma question first answered 24/06/2014 16:17:48 answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

58577

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2014
	answering body	Department for Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept id	63
	answering dept short name	Energy and Climate Change
	answering dept sort name	Energy and Climate Change
	hansard heading	Climate Change
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in securing a deal on the European Union's 2030 climate change reduction package, in advance of the United Nations Secretary-General's Climate Summit in September.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL102
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p>The European Council in March 2014 discussed the 2030 climate and energy framework and agreed to make a final decision on the Framework no later than October this year.</p><p>The UK believes that the EU should urgently adopt a domestic emissions reduction target for 2030 of at least 40% on 1990 levels, moving to 50% in the context of an ambitious global climate agreement.</p><p>I am determined to continue working closely and intensively with all my colleagues in Europe to ensure that the EU is in a position to play a leading role at the Ban Ki-Moon Climate Summit in September.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Verma question first answered 17/06/2014 13:14:55 answering member 3790 label Biography information for Baroness Verma
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans