Energy bills: Government 'determined' to get £400 payments to NI

The government is "absolutely determined" to get the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme to Northern Ireland households, the chancellor has said.

Households are due to be credited with the payment automatically to help with energy costs this winter.

People in Great Britain started receiving the payments in October.

Northern Ireland has a separate energy market and it remains unclear when the payments will be made.

Jeremy Hunt was responding to a question from Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Sammy Wilson, who asked about the £400 energy bill discount.

He said he wanted to ensure the support was available to everyone across the UK as quickly as possible.

Mr Wilson claimed that some senior civil servants are seeking to use delays in the package as a "lever to get the assembly back up and running".

Mr Hunt said he wasn't aware of this but would carry out inquiries.

Sinn Féin MLA Caoimhe Archibald accused the DUP and the Conservative Party of "fuelling instability" and said "the dithering and delay needs to stop now and the money paid to people quickly".

Meanwhile, the government has been criticised after it emerged a joint taskforce set up to help deliver the £400 discount to NI households has only met twice.

The detail was confirmed to Labour's shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Kyle following a written ministerial question.

In August, then-chancellor Nadhim Zahawi said the taskforce would work with Stormont departments to decide how to deliver the scheme.

Last week, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said the lack of a devolved government at Stormont was behind delays to the scheme being rolled out in Northern Ireland.

The Utility Regulator has also warned the payments may not start arriving in Northern Ireland until next year.

On Monday, Energy Minister Graham Stuart confirmed two meetings of the taskforce have been held since it was set up on 15 August.

Labour is calling on the government to make a statement in parliament clarifying when the scheme will now be rolled out.

Mr Kyle said people in Northern Ireland were being "left with broken promises and soaring bills".

"It's unacceptable that the energy bill support scheme is still unavailable to households in Northern Ireland," he added.

"The business secretary must urgently come to parliament to clarify when the scheme will be delivered in Northern Ireland."

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has been asked for a comment.