Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Acknowledged
Complexity of universal energy support schemes delayed aid for vulnerable consumers.
Conclusion
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 not have enough bandwidth to look at such a complex market to make sure that support reached all the different groups at the same time. They said that it was a point of regret that this had often meant it took longer to ensure support reached consumers who are often vulnerable and need it most.21 The Department acknowledged that implementing the schemes at speed created value for money risks of providing support to homes and businesses that did not necessarily need it and would have been able to manage their energy costs even without support. But did not have access to a dataset necessary to determine those who did not need support.22 Providing support to prepayment meter customers
Government Response Summary
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.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2023 1.2 The government acted swiftly to provide support to UK households and delivered almost £40 billion of energy bills support through different schemes from October 2022 to March 2023, an unprecedented pace of intervention. This extensive experience in delivering household support and the valuable lessons learned are now underpinning government planning on a range of possible scenarios for next winter. 1.3 The government prioritised quickly reaching as many UK households as possible, which was inherently complex, with greater challenges associated with certain households. People not covered by domestic electricity supply arrangements or off the gas grid (or both) are harder to reach and designing and delivering bespoke application-based solutions for them took time. Additional steps were required, for example to develop and implement application systems, checks to guard against fraud and error and to safeguard public money. Local authorities delivered these schemes in Great Britain, which took time deciding eligibility and handling applications securely. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (the department) is seeking to learn lessons on delivery routes and communications so that future schemes could better serve consumers, in particular those who are vulnerable in terms of their personal circumstances or their energy use. 1.4 The department is continuing to explore options for the best approach to supporting consumers from April 2024, by ensuring the retail energy market works better for consumers, bills remain fair whilst upholding and improving consumer standards, and by working alongside the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) as appropriate.