Energy Tariffs
Debate between Ann McKechin and John Hayes(12 years, 1 month ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
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Mr Hayes
My hon. Friend will know that one of the features of the energy marketplace in recent years has been a concentration of the number of companies involved. That was not predicted at the time of privatisation; people expected a more plural market, and the competition and downward price pressure that that brings. While the number of companies has shrunk, the number of tariffs has simultaneously grown, by, I understand, something like four-hundredfold. That is not sensible. Whatever the intention, it is leading to a degree of confusion which I think is unhelpful. Better information on bills and a simplification of tariffs, targeted in a way that allows people to get the best possible arrangement, are an absolute priority.
Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab)
Many of my constituents have no access to broadband, particularly those who are elderly, and many pay by pre-payment cards. Will the Minister be the people’s champion today by guaranteeing that those people will have the lowest tariff?
Mr Hayes
Yes, the answer to that question is that we need to do that in a range of ways. Sometimes the mechanisms used do not reach the very people whom one wants to help most. I do believe in the redistribution of advantage; perhaps in that sense I take a rather more forward position than the Labour party.