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[holding answer 19 July 2010]: Under the current voluntary agreement which is in place from 2008-11, Ofgem has ensured that information about the suppliers' social tariffs and programmes and a contact phone number for consumers to check their eligibility, is available on all the suppliers' websites. Collectively, suppliers had signed up over one million customers by the end of the first year of the agreement, spending £157 million, which exceeded the Government target by 57%.Suppliers' social tariffs are currently available for registration at the individual suppliers' discretion. However, in order to be called a social tariff and marketed as such, the tariff is required to be available on an enduring basis, not just seasonally.Under the Energy Act 2010, the Government have powers to introduce mandated social price support through the Energy Act 2010 and, subject to the outcome of the Spending Review and public consultation on its proposals, intends to introduce the first scheme in 2011. |