Government left 1.7 million people waiting months for energy bill help due to ‘lack of bandwidth’

Millions of people were left waiting too long for support with energy bills from the government due to a “lack of bandwidth”, MPs have said.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said around 1.7 million people had to wait months for support to arrive to ensure all groups, including those who are vulnerable, received support at the same time.

The government has been accused of lacking urgency in addressing the energy market failures that are leading to high energy bills for consumers”, with the cross-party group saying it had “serious concerns”.

Around 900,000 households without a direct relationship to a domestic energy supplier only became eligible for the domestic consumers’ Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding in late February - almost five months after consumers began receiving discounts on the main scheme. This included those living in park homes or on boats.

In Northern Ireland, some 830,000 households only began receiving support for their energy bills in January this year - three months later than the rest of the UK.

As of February, a remaining two million households on prepayment meters were yet to redeem vouchers for their £400 payment as part of the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

Conversely, the universal nature of the largest schemes resulted in the the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s (DESNZ) providing support to some homes and businesses that did not necessarily need it, the report added.

The committee also highlighted “unacceptable practices” of suppliers forcing entry into vulnerable customers’ homes to install prepayment meters – a practice which has since been banned by Ofgem for British Gas, but only suspended in voluntary arrangements with other energy suppliers.

When the committee heard evidence in February, household energy bills were expected to increase by another £775 over 2023 and into 2024. The PAC said it expected an update on plans to ensure energy affordability for next winter and has asked DESNZ to provide an update within six months, including its progress with future plans for the domestic scheme, such as capping support to those that use large volumes of energy and introducing discounts on bills for households on benefits.

PAC chairwoman Meg Hillier said: ““It is of course welcome to see government moving quickly to put in place support for both households and businesses to keep the lights on. But many of those who most needed help were kept waiting longest for it. For some households, every day left without support presented impossible choices.

“We need to see better understanding from government on vulnerable customers’ circumstances so that help can be prioritised for those who need it most, and to deliver value for money in these extremely expensive schemes.

“Almost halfway through the year we have not yet seen plans to ensure energy affordability for the coming winter. As a matter of urgency government must show it’s clear not just on how households and businesses will be protected in any future price rises, but how to ensure resilience in the sector as a whole.”

National Energy Action has also urged the government to invest any unspent resources on helping low-income and vulnerable homes. Chief executive Adam Scorer said: ““As a minimum, government should be reinvesting any resources that have been committed but haven’t yet been spent. That should support more than 2.5 million low-income and vulnerable households who are no longer receiving any government support.

“Without more targeted support this autumn and winter these households will be exposed to the worst of this ongoing crisis with all the dreadful consequences for health and wellbeing that we have seen day in and day out in recent times.”

A DESNZ spokesman said: “Today’s report fails to recognise the complexities of delivering support to households without a direct relationship with a supplier – and it’s right we made sure there was a robust system to help protect people against fraud before rolling it out.

“We’re proud to have delivered nearly £40 billion in support, including through the Energy Price Guarantee, getting help to millions in a matter of weeks – with 83% of energy bill support vouchers now redeemed – and including to the people of Northern Ireland who have been receiving help with their energy bills since November.”