To ask Her Majesty’s Government which areas they define as the poorest quarter of rural areas for the purposes of eligibility for assistance with the provision of gas.

Ofgem operates a scheme – the Fuel Poor Network Extension Scheme (FPNES) which provides support to eligible households in relation to the provision of mains gas. At present, if a household is within the 20% most deprived areas in Great Britain it may be eligible under this scheme. These areas are identified using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) measured at the lower super output area (LSOA) level. Note that there are separate IMDs for England, Scotland and Wales.

Ofgem is currently conducting a review of FPNES. We expect the outcome of the review to be published in March 2015.