As a relatively small player in increasingly globalised energy markets the UK is largely a 'price taker'. However, the UK Government are working in the EU and internationally to ensure that the UK has access to the energy imports it needs through encouraging sufficient investment in global energy production and promoting reliable supplies to the UK.The Coalition Government are committed to helping UK consumers to control their energy bills and heat their homes affordably by ensuring effective energy markets and promoting energy efficiency. This winter we have been working with energy suppliers to deliver the warm home discount scheme; providing heating and insulation measures through Warm Front, the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and the Community Energy Saving Programme; and developing our proposals for Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation. Additional support for energy bills is also provided through winter fuel payments and cold weather payments.Budget further built on this work by announcing: £200 million further investment in the Green Deal to support energy efficiency; £3 billion for the Green Investment Bank and £200 million for low carbon technology to help the UK decarbonise further; and, a package of oil and gas tax measures which will secure billions of pounds of additional investment in the UK continental shelf.