Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Cathy Jamieson and Ed Davey

Thursday 3rd April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

A bit of a non-sequitur there! We have made it very clear that we are doing everything we can to help the people on the lowest incomes, and we shall shortly be publishing our fuel poverty strategy, the first in more than a decade. It is interesting to note that when we considered how fuel poverty was measured under the previous Government, we found it was very inaccurate. We have therefore improved it so we can get to the people who are really struggling. The hon. Gentleman knows in his heart of hearts that the price freeze is a complete con. It will not help consumers, but it will undermine competition and prices will end up going up.

[Cathy Jamieson]

The over-75s are the most likely to live in the least energy-efficient homes and are most vulnerable to cold weather, yet they are the least likely to switch energy suppliers so they often pay more than they need to. Will the Secretary of State back Labour’s call for all over-75s to be put on to the lowest possible tariff?

[Mr Davey]

That is what is happening through the retail market review. Later this year, any dead tariffs will go and energy companies will be required to put all their customers on the lowest tariff according to their payment preferences.

Energy Bills

Debate between Cathy Jamieson and Ed Davey

Monday 2nd December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

My hon. Friend hits the nail on the head. It is vital that we do everything we can on energy bills, as we have announced today, but it is equally vital that we make sure we run the economy in a sustainable way. When we came to power, inflation was 3.5% and rising; now it is 2% and falling. By tackling the cost of living and inflation, we are delivering real help to people. That is why disposable incomes for UK households are higher now than in any year between 1997 and 2010.

[Cathy Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab/Co-op)]

I have been contacted by companies in my constituency that are very concerned about the chaotic way in which the Government’s latest policy has emerged. Will the Secretary of State tell us exactly how many additional replacement energy-efficient boilers will be installed in households as a result of today’s announcement?

[Mr Davey]

There are likely to be a lot more, because we are extending the affordable warmth scheme: we are keeping its current rate for this year and next year and we are extending it for two years. That will mean more boilers in the homes of people who are fuel-poor.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Cathy Jamieson and Ed Davey

Thursday 18th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Cathy Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab/Co-op)]

Does the Minister understand people’s concern that he has not chosen to go ahead with a separate Post Office bank? Will he say how he intends to ensure that small sub-post offices in villages will be able to offer a wider range of services to our constituents?

[Mr Davey]

We looked in some detail at the case for a state-backed Post Office bank. The cost of a banking licence would have been in the realms of the amount of money we are putting into the post office network to modernise it and to prevent a closure programme. I am sure that the hon. Lady welcomes the £1.34 billion of investment in the post office network. That, along with the policies we set out in our policy statement to get more Government revenue through the post office network, and to tie up arrangements with banks such as RBS and the post office network, is the surest way to ensure that the post offices in the villages she talked about have a long-term viable future.

Postal Services (Scotland)

Debate between Cathy Jamieson and Ed Davey

Monday 11th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

Over the next few weeks and months the hon. Gentleman will hear a huge amount about our proposals to ensure that we can make good on our pledge not to repeat Labour’s mass closure programme. I have already mentioned the extra revenues—whether from Government services or financial services—that will form a critical part of delivering on that. Frankly, it is not through regulation that we will save the post office network; it is by getting business through the network so that sub-postmasters can have a decent income and post offices can be financially viable. That is the way to do it.

[Cathy Jamieson]

Given that the Minister believes that a number of the previous post office closures were wrong, what provision will he make for the communities that wish their post offices to be reopened?

[Mr Davey]

As the hon. Lady will see in the weeks ahead, we want to empower communities and to ensure that the post office network is financially viable for the long term. She will have to wait until she hears this Government’s full policy statement, but I hope that she will support it. We saw 5,000 post offices close across the UK under the previous Government, and we will not see a repeat of that. Those closures left my constituents—and, no doubt, those of the hon. Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East—far worse off than they were before.

I should like to continue, as I want to deal with an issue that the hon. Gentleman spent some time on. This Government have made a clear choice. We will take action to safeguard Royal Mail and its universal service—the six-day, one-price-goes-anywhere service that is so essential to consumers, small businesses and rural communities. I recognise the hon. Gentleman’s particular interest in this matter, as that service is highly valued in Scotland, as it is in other extensive rural and remote areas of the UK. He was right to make that point.

Protecting the universal service is our primary objective. That means giving Royal Mail the access to the private sector capital and disciplines that it needs to modernise, innovate and thrive in the modern communications market; it means putting in place a regulatory regime that recognises that post is now competing in a wider communications market; it means giving the regulator an increased focus on safeguarding the universal service, regardless of who owns Royal Mail; and it means making sure that postmen and women have a real stake in the future success of the company. That is why we will be introducing the largest employee share scheme in a privatisation for 25 years—bigger than that of British Gas, BT or British Airways. Indeed, as a percentage of the shares, it will be the largest employee share scheme of any major privatisation. I firmly believe that our proposals for an employee share scheme will help to increase engagement and productivity, and will align the long-term interests of the company with those of its employees.

Let me return to the hon. Gentleman’s specific concern. Some have said that privatisation will lead to a degraded service, but they are wrong. The forthcoming postal services Bill will be all about protecting the universal postal service by establishing new, stronger safeguards and a firmer focus on its continued provision.

I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman is aware that our obligation under EU law is to a lesser service than the one that we currently enjoy in the UK. When it comes to the universal postal service and the minimum service that member states are required to provide, the European postal directive specifies only five days per week, with no obligation to keep the service uniform throughout the UK. I am sure that, as one who comes from Scotland, the hon. Gentleman agrees that a non-uniform service would be unacceptable here in the UK. However, the power to downgrade our service to that level already exists, and could be used by a future Government without a parliamentary vote or any need for consultation. That is completely unacceptable to me.

As I said earlier, I intend to establish new, stronger safeguards for the universal service. The Government have no intention of downgrading the service, and will never allow a situation in which the service required in one area of the country is not the same as that required in another. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will support the safeguards in the Bill when they are debated in the House, because they relate to the very points that he has made so eloquently tonight.

The measures that I have described will ensure that our communities continue to benefit from a vibrant post office network and a reliable universal postal service. Safeguarding the Post Office and the universal postal service is at the very heart of the Government’s policy, and I hope that I have been able to reassure the hon. Gentleman on that point.

Question put and agreed to.