asked the Secretary of State for Energy why the fuel discount scheme is confined to electricity users, and gas users are excluded.

On average low income groups spend a higher proportion of their income on electricity than on other fuels and since 1973 electricity consumers have been particularly hard hit by the increase in fuel bills.There are also good administrative reasons for linking any scheme to a fuel bill and almost everyone uses electricity. Users of all types of fuel who are eligible can use the £5 payment part of the scheme towards the cost of any bill.