Improving routes to ECO4 and the Great British Insulation Scheme

£12 billion was set aside by the previous government for Help to Heat Group (HTHG) schemes to ensure homes are warmer and cheaper to heat.

Since then schemes – including Energy Company Obligation, and the Great British Insulation Scheme – have been set up to improve British homes while driving towards net zero.

Ofgem, the regulator responsible for administering these schemes is looking at how it can increase the number of people using automated verification methods to prove their eligibility for support under these schemes.

Ofgem wants to ensure effective administration and improve the rate of measures that are successfully matched by maximising the take-up of automatic verification routes, namely the DWP data-matching process. It also wants to improve the consumer journey by removing or addressing any barriers, that prevent engagement with this automatic verification route, such as for individuals with any protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, like age or disability. For example, if a consumer is concerned about sharing their personal data or losing entitlement to DWP benefits, this could prevent Ofgem from using DWP data-matching to evidence HTHG membership. 

To see how it can achieve this and improve the scheme, Ofgem has set out several questions it would like interested parties to answer and submit by 11 November 2024. 

1. Do you agree that DWP data matching (including EST and EER data-matching) should be the default method of verification to evidence Help to Heat Group and low-income group membership? 
2. What, if any, barriers prevent consumers from engaging with DWP data matching? Are any consumer groups more impacted? Please include any relevant quantitative and qualitative evidence.  
3. Where you have identified consumer barriers, do you have any proposals to overcome these? 
4. What, if any, barriers prevent suppliers and/or supply chain organisations from using DWP data matching? Please include any relevant quantitative and qualitative evidence.  
5. Where you have identified supplier and/or supply chain barriers, do you have any proposals to overcome these? 
6. Are there any other proposals you have that would improve DWP match rates? Please explain the proposal and provide evidence if available.
7. Do you agree with the current approach to DWP data matching, which confirms receipt of a Help to Heat Group (HTHG) benefit at the time of the search? 
8. Do you think DWP data matching should widen its search, to consider receipt of a HTHG benefit at any point in the 12-month period? If so, should the data match confirm receipt of a HTHG benefit over the previous 12 months, 6 months or another period?
9. What would be the benefits and risks of DWP data matching moving from verification of current benefit status to receipt of a HTHG benefit at any point in the 12-month period? Would any consumer groups be more impacted?
10. What would be the benefits and risks of removing benefit letters as evidence of eligibility and how could they be mitigated? 
11. Which, if any, consumer groups are more likely to rely on benefit letters, over other verification methods, to evidence eligibility? Why might they be more likely to rely on this form of evidence? Please include any relevant quantitative and qualitative evidence. 

12.Are there any alternatives to benefit letter evidence, which are non-automated, that we should continue to accept, or consider introducing, as evidence of eligibility?

Please send your answers to these questions to: ECO@ofgem.gov.uk. 

Ofgem is keen to gather a range of perspectives on whether DWP data-matching should be the default method of verification, and on the household eligibility requirement. In addition to this, it also wants to understand the advantages and risks of removing benefit letters as evidence of eligibility, including any impacts on specific consumer groups (such as those with particular protected characteristics).

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO), first introduced in 2013, is a series of energy efficiency schemes in Great Britain that place legal obligations on medium and large energy suppliers to deliver energy efficiency to domestic premises. The ECO schemes support energy efficiency measures in the home of those considered to be in fuel poverty.

The ECO4 scheme launched on 27 July 2022 is due to close on 31 March 2026, and it is complemented by the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS), which runs from 25 July 2023 to 31 March 2026. 

To receive energy efficiency measures under ECO4, a domestic premises must meet various eligibility criteria. For a private rented sector or owner-occupied premises, this includes the requirement that the premises is or has recently been occupied by a member of the “help to heat group” (HTHG). A person living at a private domestic premises is an eligible member of HTHG if they receive at least one of the qualifying benefits. GBIS also targets a low-income group which mirrors the eligibility criteria for the HTHG within ECO4.

There are several ways for suppliers to evidence HTHG or low-income group membership. This includes, but is not limited to, a matched Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reference number or a benefit letter.

To obtain a matched DWP reference number, there are two processes for cross-checking a person’s benefit status: Energy Saving Trust (EST) data matching and ECO Eligible Referral (EER) data matching. Both routes work with DWP to check whether individuals are in receipt of specific benefits. Supply chain organisations can currently access the EST route through the Energy Saving Trust, which acts as a third-party intermediary body.

The EER route is a new expanded option which is due to launch soon. Unlike the EST route, the EER route is direct with the DWP and can only be utilised by suppliers. It encompasses benefits of the data matching service but with the added benefit that obligated energy suppliers will be able to directly share their own ‘vulnerable customer lists’ with the DWP. If DWP confirms, through either route, that a person is in receipt of a qualifying benefit, this can be used to contact potentially eligible households in relation to the schemes, and ultimately as evidence of HTHG or low-income membership.