Calls for Warm Home Discount to recognise ‘super priority groups’

Consumer Focus is calling for the Government to consider how it could extend its energy bill discount scheme to more fuel poor households and give greater consistency to its approach to fuel poverty.

A new report from the watchdog argues that the Government's ‘Warm Home Discount' plans may miss the opportunity to help 1.5 million consumers who are most at risk of living in cold homes and who are already recognised as a fuel poverty ‘super priority group'.

Consumer Focus welcomes the Government's ‘Warm Home Discount' scheme which, when it comes into effect in April, will offer discounts of £130 to low income energy customers. However, suppliers will only be required to offer the discounts to low income pensioners.  It will be left to energy firms' discretion as to which other vulnerable customers will receive the discounts. Consumer Focus believes this could mean that many hundreds of thousands of the poorest families and disabled people will miss out on much-needed help.

Children, people with a disability and older people are more vulnerable to the health effects of living in a cold or damp home. The Government recognises this and has made them a ‘super priority group' under its energy supplier-run energy efficiency scheme - CERT (Carbon Emissions Reduction Target).

Consumer Focus is urging greater consistency in the Government's approach to tackling fuel poverty by extending the Warm Home Discount to recognised ‘super priority' households - those eligible to Cold Weather Payments and low income families with school-age children.

If the Government required suppliers to widen the eligible groups along the lines Consumer Focus proposes - around three and a half million of the poorest British households would receive these much-needed energy discounts. Under current plans, the Government predicts that around two million low income British households will receive the Warm Home Discount by 2014. Consumer Focus estimates that about 25% of fuel poor households will be eligible under the planned scheme.  The consumer watchdog's proposed changes to the scheme would make around 40% of fuel poor households eligible for help.

Jonathan Stearn, energy expert for Consumer Focus, said: ‘Across the country families and disabled people living on low fixed incomes are struggling to afford to heat their homes, which could be leaving the health of many at risk. The Warm Home Discount scheme will help to reduce these risks, but it should aim to cover all those who need help the most, not just older people on low incomes.

‘The Government has a "super priority group" for energy efficiency schemes. It should be the same group who get help paying their fuel bills. Leaving it to energy companies to decide who gets this help is not the way to develop a consistent and strategic approach to helping those in fuel poverty. This scheme represents a great opportunity to take a major step forward toward a coherent fuel poverty strategy.'

The Warm Home Discount scheme will be funded by a levy on all energy bills. If the Government feels unable to fund an extension through general taxation, then it should consider extending the levy. This will mean a small increase on the bills of all other customers. That is not a decision to take lightly, but with the poorest and most vulnerable households increasingly struggling to heat their homes it is one that may need to be taken.