Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 14
14
Acknowledged
Department's poor understanding of non-domestic sector led to untargeted, inequitable support.
Conclusion
The Department acknowledged that it knew less about the non–domestic sector than the domestic sector at the time of the interventions and that this “threw up a number of issues and complexities”.33 It told us that targeting the non–domestic sector was a challenge because of “level of data to allow us to categorise non–domestic suppliers into particular groups”. Although it used standard classifications of industry to understand which sectors 24 Q 12 25 Q 30 26 Q 13 27 EBS0001; EBS0008 28 Qq 13, 17 29 Q 13 30 Q 13 31 Q 31 32 EBS0008 33 Q 46 10 were particularly exposed to high energy costs, and which were more energy–intensive, the Department said there were “limitations around that data in the way it groups different sets of customers”.34 The Department’s poor understanding of the non–domestic sector led to it providing identical support for all businesses.35 Small businesses, however, do not have the buying power of some of the larger non–domestic customers to get good deals, and have a variety of contracts and arrangements.36 Some small businesses with high energy usage such as hospitality may have also missed out on additional support that they needed before the government began to target businesses deemed to be energy and trade intensive in March 2024.37 The Department said that it would want to target a future scheme more precisely using its “understanding of the different exposure that different parts of the sector had” to high energy prices.38 Identifying consumers most in need
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.