Energy Act 2013

Fuel poverty

145 Fuel poverty

(1) The Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 is amended as follows.

(2) After section 1 insert—

“1A Objective for addressing fuel poverty: England

(1) The Secretary of State must make regulations setting out an objective for addressing the situation of persons in England who live in fuel poverty.

(2) The regulations must specify a target date for achieving the objective.

(3) Regulations under this section must be made by statutory instrument; and a statutory instrument containing such regulations may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

(4) The Secretary of State must lay a draft of the instrument before each House of Parliament within 6 months of the day on which section 145 of the Energy Act 2013 comes into force.

1B Strategy relating to fuel poverty: England

(1) The Secretary of State must prepare and publish a strategy setting out the Secretary of State’s policies for achieving the objective set out in regulations under section 1A by the target date specified in the regulations.

(2) The strategy must be published within 6 months of the day on which the first regulations under section 1A come into force.

(3) The strategy must—

(a) describe the households to which it applies,

(b) specify a comprehensive package of measures for achieving the objective by the target date, and

(c) specify interim objectives to be achieved and target dates for achieving them.

(4) The Secretary of State must take such steps as are in the Secretary of State’s opinion necessary to implement the strategy.

(5) The Secretary of State must—

(a) from time to time assess the impact of steps taken under subsection (4) and the progress made in achieving the objectives and meeting the target dates,

(b) make any revision of the strategy which the Secretary of State thinks appropriate in consequence of the assessment,

(c) from time to time publish reports on such assessments.

(6) If—

(a) further regulations under section 1A are made revising an objective or the target date for achieving it, and

(b) the Secretary of State considers that changes to the strategy are necessary or desirable as a result of those regulations,

the Secretary of State must revise the strategy within 6 months of the day on which those regulations come into force.

(7) If the Secretary of State revises the strategy, the Secretary of State must publish the strategy as revised.

(8) In preparing the strategy or any revision of the strategy, the Secretary of State must consult—

(a) local authorities or associations of local authorities,

(b) persons appearing to the Secretary of State to represent the interests of persons living in fuel poverty,

(c) the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, and

(d) such other persons as the Secretary of State thinks fit.”

(3) In section 2—

(a) in the title, after “poverty” insert “: Wales”;

(b) in subsection (1), after “strategy” insert “as respects Wales”;

(c) in subsection (2)(d), omit “England or”;

(d) in subsection (8)—

(i) in the definition of “the appropriate authority”, omit paragraph (a), and

(ii) in the definition of “the relevant commencement”, omit paragraph (a).