The UK Government announced a package of support in April 2022 for almost all households in Great Britain1. The package included the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme and the Energy Price Guarantee, which fixed a maximum unit price at £2,500 for a typical bill1.
The Energy Price Guarantee is a closed crisis scheme that limited the unit price a supplier could charge for a typical household1. The £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme was a payment made to households in Great Britain1. Northern Ireland operates a separate energy market, and the support described here applied to Great Britain1.
Consumer Scotland, the statutory body for consumers in Scotland, published an assessment of the implications of the energy crisis for disabled people on 8 June 20231. That assessment drew on the Consumer Scotland Energy Tracker Survey and a call for evidence to the Scottish Energy Insights Coordination Group1. It found that disabled people and those with a health condition were more likely to report difficulty keeping up with energy bills, with 47 per cent of disabled people reporting they found it difficult to keep up compared with 29 per cent of non-disabled people1. It also found that 73 per cent of disabled people reported rationing energy use due to financial concerns compared with 65 per cent of non-disabled people, and that 52 per cent of disabled people reported being unable to heat their home to a comfortable level compared with 36 per cent of non-disabled people1.
The assessment reported impacts on health. It found that 45 per cent of disabled people reported that the energy crisis was impacting their physical health either a lot or a fair amount, compared with 18 per cent of non-disabled people1. It also found that 54 per cent of disabled people reported the energy crisis had an impact on their mental health, compared with 31 per cent of non-disabled people1. Consumer Scotland said that specific items requiring power to operate include home dialysis machines, artificial ventilators, stairlifts, feeding pumps, electric wheelchairs, bath hoists and adjustable beds1.
"Our initial evidence suggests that the current financial support for disabled people beyond means-tested, non-disability specific funding, has been insufficient to prevent acute affordability challenges."
The assessment noted that the Fuel Poverty Act 2019 already outlines eligibility for Enhanced Heating Regimes for certain groups who have higher heating needs1. It also identified a data gap, stating that there is little clarity on the individual and aggregate energy demands and costs of specific medical equipment1.
Why it matters for households
The April 2022 package set the level of support available to households in Great Britain during the energy crisis, and the Energy Price Guarantee fixed the maximum unit price for a typical bill at £2,5001. For a household, the practical effect was a limit on what a supplier could charge per unit, alongside a one-off £400 payment1. The Consumer Scotland assessment indicates that for households including a disabled person, the support did not cover the additional costs some face, including the cost of running medical equipment and heating the home to a safe temperature1. Households in Northern Ireland were not covered by the Great Britain package described here1.
What happens next
Consumer Scotland said it intends to conduct further work to identify some of these costs and potential mechanisms to provide support1. It also said it intends to undertake further analysis work to more fully understand the impact of the crisis for disabled energy consumers in Scotland and to develop policy options to improve consumer outcomes in the retail energy market1. The assessment suggested steps including better understanding the costs of running individual items of medical equipment and modelled aggregate costs, learning from work in NHS Grampian on home dialysis costs, and reviewing the implications of the Enhanced Heating Regime under the Fuel Poverty Act 20191. No further UK Government announcement on the Energy Price Guarantee or the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme has been reported1.