asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his latest estimated breakdown of the total costs, including administration, postage, etc., of his scheme for rebated fuel bills; how many extra officials will be required to run the scheme; and how many people are likely to benefit from it.

Although returns to date suggest that the £25 million set aside for this scheme will not be fully taken up it is not possible at this stage to add to my reply to the hon. Member of 14th February.—[Vol. 926, c. 48–9.]

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many claims under the electricity discount scheme have been received at the latest available date; and how much of the original £25 million allocated has been taken up.

By 22nd April claims from some 850,000 households to a total value of £5·6 million had been reported to Departments. This is still below the level of claims expected at this stage, though a considerable increase on the figures I gave to the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Sproat) on 21st March. I would urge all electricity consumers who are receiving supplementary benefit or family income supplement to claim the discount as soon as their electricity bill arrives.