Official Report: Minutes of Evidence

The Chairperson (Dr Archibald): At page 68 of members' packs, there is a response from the Department for Communities to a Research and Information Service (RaISe) scrutiny point about whether the Department has an estimate of the proportion of households that are at risk of falling into fuel poverty. In 2016, 22% of households were in fuel poverty; in 2017, it was 17%; and in 2018, it was 18%. No further modelled estimates have been produced, but a ready reckoner table has been supplied to

potential changes. That is for members to note. Obviously, the current increased costs and the amount that people are spending on energy bills will change those figures.

The Committee Clerk: Absolutely, Chair. The Committee is aware of the meetings that the Department for Communities, the Department for the Economy, the Consumer Council and the Utility Regulator are having. The Department of Finance is also putting together a scheme for payments to mitigate the higher cost of energy, particularly going into the winter.

The Chairperson (Dr Archibald): That is for members to note. There is also a RaISe briefing note at page 71 of members' packs regarding microgeneration support schemes in other jurisdictions. That is also for members to note. There is a copy of the Hansard reports from the Utility Regulator's briefing at page 76 and from the NIE Networks briefing at page 87.