To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department has taken to regulate utility bill price increases for low income households over the last three years; and if he will make a statement. (194832)

Neither the Government nor Ofgem regulate overall prices in the energy supply markets, which are competitive markets.

In the Energy White Paper, we called for suppliers to increase their help to vulnerable customers. The level of help has now increased from £40 million to £56 million during winter 2007-08 with around 700,000 households benefiting.

However, the Government believe that, given recent rises in energy prices coupled with a growing global demand for fossil fuels, vulnerable households need further help. We will continue discussions with the energy companies and Ofgem with the aim of delivering a fair programme of assistance for vulnerable households. Our aim is to increase the level of assistance from £56 million a year to £150 million a year. The Government are prepared to introduce legislation, if necessary, designed to enable it to require energy companies to make a fair contribution.