Minister admits bills support will be delayed

Households that receive power indirectly from a supplier, such as those on heat networks, face delays in receiving help with their bills, the energy minister has admitted.

The vast majority of households will have received £400 of discounts automatically through the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) this winter.

However, paying this support via discounts on bills is not an option for those households who do not have a direct relationship with a supplier, such as those living in park homes and houseboats or on heat networks.

The government is setting up a portal that such customers will be able to use to apply for their entitlement under the EBSS.

When the scheme was announced, the government said it was aiming to open it in January.

However at a briefing with MPs on Tuesday, energy minister Graham Stuart revealed that the portal will not be up and running until 27 February.

During a debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday (25 January), he said that in order to safeguard public money, the portal would require “robust” fraud checks and the ability to verify bank accounts and addresses.

Stuart said because such records are held across government, local authorities and banks, the portal requires a “complex” case-management system.

Councils were finding it particularly difficult to implement these systems quickly, he said: “We are doing everything possible to ensure this is done as quickly as possible. Because of council tax bills, this is the busiest time of year for the local authority staff who deal with this. We must have a system that stands up, is robust and delivers on time.

“I pushed back in every way possible to see if we could open the portal in January, but we could not do so without risking the confidence and support of those local authorities. We will make sure that we have it in place and that we deliver it in the right way.”

Munira Wilson, Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, said the delay meant that households with indirect supply arrangements faced having to wait until the end of March before receiving any bills relief.

Alan Whitehead, Labour’s shadow energy spokesman, said: “The alternative help scheme devised for those who indirectly pay their bill, whether they live in park homes, communal buildings or district heating schemes, has simply not arrived.

“It was expected in December and then January, but we now hear it will not be active until the end of February—five months after account customers started to get assistance.”