Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Acknowledged
Set out plan by September 2025 for targeting future consumer support, addressing data matching challenges.
Conclusion
The Department would not yet be in a position to provide more targeted support to consumers and so reduce wasteful expenditure. Most of the £44 billion of support was provided through the schemes that were universal in nature, which means that some people who did not need the support still received it, affecting the schemes’ overall value for money. The support provided also did not match the support that was needed, as lower–income households received the same level of support as higher–income households. The non–domestic sector faced similar issues, with for example small, energy–intensive businesses struggling to access support which reflected a range of very different circumstances due to the Department’s initial poor understanding of the sector. The Department is still in the early stages of considering how combining information, such as from tax systems, which are based on individuals, and energy usage based on household consumption, might support better targeting in the future, despite it being almost three years since the spike in energy prices. 3 Stakeholders are concerned that delays in addressing administrative challenges with data matching will affect the ability for future financial support to reach those consumers who need it most. recommendation The Department should, by September 2025, set out a plan for how it would be able to target support to both domestic and non–domestic consumers in the future. This should include the actions it is taking to address the challenges with data matching.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to review options for better targeting support and improve data use for future schemes, acknowledging this is complex and involves ongoing work with stakeholders to consider options.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. fuel poor households in Great Britain, and the government has consulted on expanding the scheme to support more households. The government works with energy suppliers to identify eligible households in England and Wales through data matching, providing most of the rebates automatically. The current Warm Home Discount scheme runs to March 2026. The government is taking the opportunity to review options for better targeting of future bill support beyond this point. Better access to data is critical for identifying households and providing them support automatically, and the government committed in the Autumn Budget 2024 to exploring how better data use and sharing can improve the targeting of economic support, particularly in times of crisis. These are complex matters, and the department is working closely with other government departments, energy suppliers, and stakeholders to consider options for improving data sharing and data matching. The Minister for Energy Consumers is also leading a working group with Energy UK and other stakeholders to consider how the department can take further sustained action on improving affordability and accessibility of energy. million households. 3.3 The department is considering options for better targeting of bill support schemes, including in the event of a future energy crisis. DESNZ is working closely with other government departments to unlock the data that will enable targeting support more effectively to those who need help with their energy bills. The department is working with relevant stakeholders, including advocacy charities, to inform this work. Ministers regularly meet with a range of stakeholders to discuss fuel poverty strategy, and this has included the National Housing Federation.