To ask the Minister for Communities for her assessment of the risk of increasing levels of fuel poverty this winter; and to detail the actions she is taking to protect vulnerable households from rising energy prices.

Fuel poverty is defined as needing to spend more than ten per cent of the total household income on all fuel use to maintain a satisfactory level of heating, that is, twenty one degrees in the living room and eighteen degrees in other occupied rooms. Fuel poverty is generally caused by a combination of three factors, poor household energy efficiency, low income and fuel costs.

I am aware of the recently announced increase in energy prices and of the potential impact this will have on low income households, particularly as the timing of the increase coincides with the end of the furlough scheme and the phasing out of the Universal Credit top up.

I wrote to Thérèse Coffey, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on 26 July and expressed my grave concern that the £20 uplift in Universal Credit is being withdrawn, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have written again on 30 August to Thérèse Coffey, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in a joint letter with the Scottish and Welsh Ministers to seek the continuation of the £20 uplift to Universal Credit. This is similar to a joint letter that was issued on 12 November 2020. If the uplift is not extended after 5 October 2021, I will include it as part of the planned review of welfare mitigations measures.

My Department offers a range of support to assist low income households with rising energy prices.

The Affordable Warmth Scheme

The Affordable Warmth Scheme is the Executive’s main fuel poverty scheme providing a range of energy efficiency improvement measures which include cavity and loft insulation as well as new and replacement heating systems and windows where appropriate. The Scheme has invested over £90 million and improved the energy efficiency of almost 21,000 households since it was introduced in 2015.

I approved changes to the eligibility criteria for the Scheme which were implemented on 1 July 21. Those changes increased the income threshold from £20,000 to £23,000 and removed disability benefits from the calculation of income. It is anticipated this will increase the number of households eligible for support.

The Boiler Replacement Scheme

The Boiler Replacement Scheme is a grant based scheme funded by the Department and administered by the Housing Executive which provides a grant of up to £1,000 to eligible households towards the cost of replacing old and inefficient boilers over 15 years old.

Cold Weather Payment Scheme

The Social Fund Cold Weather Payment Scheme provides a one off payment of £25 to the elderly, disabled and those with children under 5 years old in periods of severe weather. These periods are assessed by the Met Office which links every residential postcode to selected weather stations around the country, so that when the temperature criterion for a postcode is met (i.e. the average temperature is recorded or forecast to be 0oC or below over seven consecutive days) a payment is automatically triggered.

Winter Fuel Payments

The Winter Fuel Payment is a tax free and non means tested benefit which is paid annually to eligible older people. The rate payable is between £100 and £300 depending on personal circumstances, to help people pay their heating bills. To be eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment an individual must have reached the qualifying age in the qualifying week, which is the third week in September. In addition to the above criteria the only other criteria is that a person lives in the UK during a qualifying week.

Discretionary Support

An award of short-term financial help may be made through the Discretionary Support scheme to assist with additional expenditure for fuel costs if a person is in an extreme, exceptional or crisis situation. Such awards will be made as an interest free loan provided a person meets the eligibility criteria. This includes an assessment of the ability to repay a loan and the level of existing Government debt. A person does not have to be claiming benefits to be eligible for Discretionary Support and it is available to those who are working if their annual income is below £20,894.40. Currently a maximum of three loans can be made in a rolling 12 month period.