Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Barker of Battle and Alison Seabeck

Thursday 14th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Barker]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right; the Government are committed to bringing new ambition and vision to tackling fuel poverty. The last fuel poverty strategy was published 10 years ago, and we will be coming forward this year with an ambitious strategy, pulling together all strands of policy and building on the latest evidence and creative thinking in that area. I would welcome my hon. Friend’s input, given his knowledge and experience in the area.

[Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Moor View) (Lab)]

I make my usual declaration of indirect interests. All MPs will be aware of the effect of fuel poverty on our constituents. A housing association in my constituency is trying desperately to upgrade its properties, which are in an appalling condition. It has fallen foul of the vested interest of a financial investment company which is the latest owner of the freehold for those properties. The company wants only to make a fast buck and is not prepared to renegotiate the contract, but in the meantime my constituents are suffering from bad health and an inability to pay their fuel bills. What can the Department do to help tackle those vested interests?

[Gregory Barker]

The hon. Lady is right and has a real point. The leasehold-freehold issue is one of the knottiest to tackle and has eluded successive Governments. I would be happy to sit down with her and look at that specific case to work out what more we can do to help the sorts of tenants to whom she refers.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Barker of Battle and Alison Seabeck

Thursday 1st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Barker]

I am very pleased to correct that misinformation. The green deal finance plans will be written from January next year. The ECO is already in place, while the carbon emissions reduction target and the community energy saving programme will continue through to the end of this year, so there is a substantial programme of work that is seamless, running from the end of CERT and CESP right through to the take-up of the more transformational green deal programme.

[Alison Seabeck]

Evidence produced by the Office for National Statistics and highlighted in the Plymouth Herald this week has highlighted the fact that many more people are working beyond pensionable age, in part because of the need to pay their high energy bills. The last Labour Government put tough obligations on those energy companies to support vulnerable families, including pensioners, with insulation. With only 10 weeks left, Ofgem is now warning that many of those energy companies are not going to meet their targets. What is the Minister doing to nail these energy companies and to explain to my pensioners in Plymouth that they are going to be supported and be warm?

[Gregory Barker]

The hon. Lady is right: there have been shortcomings in the programmes introduced under the last Government—namely, CERT and CESP. We have done much more to drive deployment of those programmes into vulnerable homes and for the super priority group. I have assurances that we will meet those targets for CERT and CESP, but the great thing about the green deal is that it is applicable to every single home. Whether it be pensioners living in rented accommodation or people living in social housing or on their own, the green deal will be for them, along with a whole range of measures that were not available under CERT.