asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will ensure that the severely physically handicapped in the 16 to 65-year age group are covered within his Department's code of practice for fuel debts.

The code of practice on payment of domestic electricity and gas bills is the industries' code. The contents and operation of the code are currently the subject of an independent review sponsored by the industries and their consumer councils. It would be premature to prejudge the outcome of the review. However, I understand that the industries already take account of all the circumstances of a particular customer before making use of their powers to disconnect supply.