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Energy Bill [HL]

My Lords, I should like to speak to Amendment 6, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, which deals with making,"““specific provision for the green deal to address situations of fuel poverty””." With this in mind, will householders in fuel poverty be able to afford the cost of the assessor? I believe that this cost, which might be £80, £100 or £120—I do not know—could be a barrier to the take-up of the Green Deal. £100 may be the entire weekly income of some householders in poverty, so rather than spend £100 on the assessor, they will choose to buy food or whatever. I suggested in Committee that this cost could be rolled up into the Green Deal so that no one has any up-front costs. The Minister’s response then was: "““As for rolling up the costs of the assessor, we would not encourage that, but there may be a framework in which it could happen. We will need to look into that further””.—[Official Report, 19/1/11; col. GC69.]" I wonder whether my noble friend has been able to look into it further and whether he can give me any comfort on the matter.