Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Acknowledged
Significant technical challenges impede effective targeting of energy support, particularly income data.
Conclusion
The Department said that even if it had wanted to, it would not have been able to target support at the time of introducing the schemes due to challenges with identifying household income to determine an appropriate level of support.26 Written evidence from the Energy Systems Catapult and Fair by Design highlighted a need for targeted support.27 To do this, the Department told us that it is now working with the Department for Work and Pensions to make best use of employment benefits data.28 It added that it is also working with the health service and local government to identify individuals in particular need of support alongside energy suppliers. The Department recognised that targeting support requires data linking to be effective, but highlighted “very significant technical and practical challenges” in doing so. It told us the “most difficult nut to crack” is still income data, which is collected on an individual level while energy usage is based on household consumption.29 The income data for self–employed individuals is also lagged, so it is “quite a long way out of date by the time it is fully organised”.30
Government Response Summary
The government says it is taking the opportunity to review options for better targeting of future bill support beyond March 2026, exploring data sharing and data matching to improve the targeting of economic support.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: September 2025 2.2 The Warm Home Discount provides targeted support to over 3 million low-income and 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. 2.3 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.