Select committee: Environmental Audit Committee

Recommendation 44

4th Report - Accelerating the transition from fossil fuels and securing energy supplies Published 5 Jan 2023 Paragraph 247

Environmental Audit Committee Accelerating the transition from fossil fuels and securing energy supplies All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗

Recommendation (the committee's words)

The Energy Bills Support Scheme and the subsequent Energy Price Guarantee have provided badly-needed support for billpayers, saving four million households from fuel poverty. While we welcome the support the Government has provided, we note that currently it will only help eligible households through two winters. It will not deliver the energy efficiency measures which will lead to permanently lower energy bills. We call on the newly announced Energy Efficiency Taskforce to work with the Chancellor to allocate a proportion of the Energy Profits Levy revenue in the current Parliament to increasing energy efficiency investments, targeting these investments at the most vulnerable to lower permanently the costs of heating their homes. This additional investment should also fulfil the Government’s 2019 manifesto commitment to expenditure of £9 billion on energy efficiency in this Parliament.

From: Environmental Audit Committee, 4th Report - Accelerating the transition from fossil fuels and securing energy supplies (HC 109), paragraph 247, 5 January 2023

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 23 March 2023 (deadline 5 March 2023).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Government welcomes the Committee's report and responds mainly by pointing to existing schemes, targets and planned consultations, while declining several recommendations, including a tax allowance for renewable generators and ringfencing Energy Profits Levy revenue for energy efficiency.

On renewable generators' tax relief, it states it "does not accept this recomsmendation" [sic], citing support through Contracts for Difference. On the Energy Profits Levy, it has "considerable fiscal sustainability concerns" about hypothecating revenue for energy efficiency.
On green mortgages, it agrees lenders have "an important role to play" but will publish a response only once policy is "resolved", giving no date. It intends to consult on Energy Performance Certificate and wider buildings framework reforms in 2023.
On the North Sea, it considers the Transition Deal targets "sufficiently ambitious" and says it does "not propose reopening this deal for negotiation", though it will monitor progress closely, including whether "further steps may be necessary".
On energy efficiency funding, it points to £6.6 billion this Parliament and £6 billion of new funding "from 2025 to 2028". It intends to launch ECO+ in spring 2023, "proposed to be worth £1 billion over three years".

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