Webb quizzes O'Brien over social tariffs

6.50.00pm GMT Fri 14th Nov 2008

• [Nov 13]: Steve Webb (Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Energy and Climate Change: Northavon, Liberal Democrat): WILL the Minister accept that the energy market is a mess when it comes to social tariffs?

Of the big six energy companies, one provides most of the social tariffs, and it has now stopped: it will not let new customers go on to social tariffs. Some of the others do not do any at all. Is that the right way for vulnerable customers to be treated? Is it not a risky strategy to rely on the goodness of heart of the energy companies?

Mike O'Brien (Minister of State, Department for Energy and Climate Change: North Warwickshire, Labour): We have had an assurance from the energy companies that they will put a further £225 million into social tariffs. The way in which the energy companies were privatised means that they all have to compete. Ofgem has taken the view that they also compete on social tariffs. There is an argument for greater standardisation of social tariffs, and I have some sympathy with it, but the companies take a view, as, indeed, Ofgem does, that there is a market and this is one of the areas where they need to compete. Some 600,000 people are able to access these lower social tariffs, and I want to put more people on them so that they pay lower prices. That is why the Pensions Bill contains a provision to allow data sharing by the Department for Work and Pensions to enable the energy companies to know which people are on pension credit-in due course we would want to extend that further-so that they can be put on a social tariff, as I hope would happen.