§ Sue DoughtyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated costs are for winter fuel payments during 2002; what he expects the additional cost of paying a further £100 to those over 80 will be; what the annual expenditure allocated to the Warm Front scheme is for 2003–04; and what the annual expenditure is on the Social Priority Group as designated within the Energy Efficiency Commitment. [119057]
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§ John HealeyThe estimated cost of providing winter fuel payments in Great Britain in 2002–03 is detailed in Table 2 of the Benefit Expenditure Tables 2003, which are available on the statistics pages of the Department for Work and Pensions website.
The cost of providing an extra £100 to households with someone aged 80 and over is detailed in Table A.1 of this year's Financial Statement and Budget Report (HC 500).
The funding allocated to the Warm Front scheme for 2003–04 is £152 million, from a total fuel poverty budget of £156 million. This year's level of funding will enable continued delivery of energy efficiency measures to some of the most vulnerable members of society.
Under the Energy Efficiency Commitment 2002–05, energy suppliers must direct at least 50 per cent. of energy savings to a priority group of low-income consumers over the three-year programme. The annual expenditure will depend on the energy efficiency measures used to generate those savings.