Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

As I explained earlier, money will be made available from shale gas exploration for local communities and it will be up to local communities to decide in which projects to invest it. We are already taking action to improve the position of those who happen to be off grid, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has explained, through better identification and data sharing through the agencies and by encouraging earlier and collective purchasing schemes.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

11. What steps he is taking to protect the fuel poor whilst seeking to reduce energy bills.

[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Gregory Barker)]

In December the coalition announced a package of policy changes to save hard-working families an average of £50 off their energy bills. The package also included proposals to extend the energy company obligation, which provides direct support to the fuel poor through to 2017. That gives crucial investment certainty to those rolling out our long-term plan to cut fuel poverty.

[Andrew Stephenson]

I thank the Minister for his answer. My constituent, Peter Chester, who runs Green World Energy Solutions, a company whose work focuses on households that qualify for ECO funding, is very concerned that the changes to ECO funding might prevent vulnerable households from being able to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Can the Minister provide any assurances that that will not be the case?

[Gregory Barker]

Let me reassure my hon. Friend, who is a very effective local champion for entrepreneurs such as Mr Chester and for those struggling with high energy bills in Pendle. I assure him that the coalition has a long-term plan to slash fuel poverty. As we have extended the ECO out to 2017 and increased the number of people it will help, Green World Energy Solutions and other firms like it can now plan with real certainty to continue to improve the homes of thousands of families and help them to cut their bills.