Energy Prices

Debate between Lord Sharma and Caroline Flint

Wednesday 11th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Flint (Don Valley) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House believes that soaring energy bills are driving up inflation, contributing to a cost of living crisis afflicting millions of families, and that the energy market is not serving the public interest; notes the motion passed by this House on 19 October 2011 calling on the Government to investigate mis-selling, simplify tariffs, increase transparency of trading data, require energy companies to use their profits to help with bills this winter and reform the energy market to increase competition and drive down energy bills; regrets that since then the Government has failed to deliver on any of these measures; further notes that consumer efforts to control their energy bills have been undermined by cuts to the Feed-in Tariff and Warm Front scheme, and that there are serious concerns about whether the Green Deal will be taken up by, and work for, consumers; notes that over 90 per cent. of eligible families will not receive the Warm Homes Discount in 2012; calls on the Government to require energy companies to provide the lowest tariff to over 75s and use their profits to ensure that all families eligible for Cold Weather Payments receive the Warm Homes Discount; and further calls on the Government to reform the energy market to make it competitive and responsible, to cut VAT on home improvements to 5 per cent. for 12 months and to ensure that the Green Deal is offered on fair terms to consumers which will deliver real savings in energy bills.

May I wish you a happy new year, Mr Deputy Speaker?

Less than three months ago, the Opposition warned that soaring energy bills were driving up inflation, squeezing household budgets and contributing to the cost of living crisis afflicting millions of families. We warned, too, that trust in the energy sector had fallen to dangerously low levels as people grew sick and tired of the energy companies’ sharp practices. We set out a clear plan to provide real help now, as well as to reform the way in which our energy market works. We called on the Government to investigate the scandal of mis-selling, and to ensure that people were properly compensated. We also urged them to simplify tariffs, in order to put an end to the disgrace of four out of five families paying more for their energy than they needed to. We asked for more transparency on energy companies’ trading data, so that the public could see for themselves how much the companies were paying for their energy, as well as how much they were charging for it. We argued for a radical overhaul of the way in which our energy market was structured, to break the dominance of the big six and increase competition in order to drive down bills for families and businesses. We also called on the Government to make the energy companies use their record profits to help people with their bills this winter.

The Government did something unusual—so unusual that the Government Whip on the Front Bench at the time seemed surprised by it. They backed our motion. They agreed to support our plans. Indeed, commenting on the Labour motion, the Secretary of State said that

“there is nothing we disagree with”.

He went on to say that

“sympathy from the sidelines is not enough. It is our responsibility to do everything we can to help.”—[Official Report, 19 October 2011; Vol. 533, c. 944.]

Today, however, the scale of the Government’s failure is clear. More families are in fuel poverty and struggling to heat their homes. Consumer Focus says that a quarter of all households in England and Wales—5.7 million in all—are now in fuel poverty. National Energy Action fears that the figure could be as high as 6.6 million. These are levels not seen since the dog days of the last Conservative Government. The number of households in debt to their electricity and gas suppliers is up, too, but energy companies’ profit margins are still in excess of £100 per customer per year.

[Alok Sharma (Reading West) (Con)]

It is all very well for the right hon. Lady to lecture the Government, but in the last six years of the Labour Government, the number of households in fuel poverty rose by 2.8 million. Is she proud of that record?

[Caroline Flint]

I am proud of the fact that, by the time we left government, there were 1 million fewer people in fuel poverty. That included 500,000 in the most vulnerable households. The fact is that we took measures to tackle fuel poverty. Is there more to do? Yes. But what is happening now is that the figures are going up and, as I will demonstrate, this Government are not helping; they are hurting.

Confidence in the energy companies is at a near record low. Less than half of the public are satisfied with their energy supplier, yet energy company bosses have awarded themselves huge pay rises and bumper bonuses totalling millions of pounds. Complaints to the energy companies have soared, often over dodgy tariffs or incorrect billing or meter readings. There have been 4 million complaints in the past year alone, and the figure has gone up by 26% in the last three months. Today’s Which? report shows that one in five customers who have had problems with their energy supplier did not even make a complaint, and that nine out of 10 complaints are unresolved and never make it to the energy ombudsman. As much as £4 million in compensation is going unclaimed. There are real concerns about whether the watchdogs, the consumer groups, and organisations such as the energy ombudsman and Ofgem have the powers that they need to protect the public. We need to think clearly about the kind of infrastructure that is needed to ensure that those organisations do their job.

Time and again, we see a Government who are not just out of touch but completely unable to stand up to vested interests in the energy industry. Far from doing everything they can to help, this Government are making things worse, not better, for millions of hard-working families. Their failing economic policies mean that the average family faces the worst squeeze on income since records began in the 1950s, with families and children hardest hit.

What, then, are the Government doing to help people? What have they done for pensioners forced to choose this winter between heating their homes and having a hot meal? They have cut the winter fuel allowance, despite promising not to. We have been honest that under a future Labour Government that might be something that we cannot reverse, but let us be clear about the facts. Before the election, we warned that the Conservatives wanted to cut the winter fuel allowance. In response, the Prime Minister said:

“We would keep the winter fuel allowance. Let me take this opportunity to say very clearly, to any pensioner who is watching this or reading any of these reports, I know that you are getting letters from the Labour party saying the Conservatives would cut the winter fuel allowance…Those statements from Labour are quite simply lies.”

Our 12.7 million pensioners now know that we were not lying.

The Government, however, have tried to change the story. Now they like to say that the decision had already been taken by the last Government. Even today, the Prime Minister repeated that allegation. It is simply not true. When Labour left office, the decision had not yet been taken. It was perfectly within the Government’s power to continue with the extra payment, as Labour Chancellors had in previous years, but they chose not to. This Government took the decision in last year’s Budget—and they should take responsibility for it.