Heating Oil Support Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
Gideon Amos
Main Page: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)Department Debates - View all Gideon Amos's debates with the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
(1 day, 8 hours ago)
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Martin McCluskey
My hon. Friend makes an important point, which I will be sure to raise in future discussions with Scottish Government Ministers.
Gideon Amos (Taunton and Wellington) (LD)
Residents of Curland and Hatch Beauchamp are among the 9,000 off-grid households in my constituency, and they have contacted me about the heating oil question. Given that prices have gone up so greatly, they will welcome the Government’s move, however small, against the soaring prices caused by Trump’s illegal and unprincipled war. However, given that the help works out at only £35 per house, would it not be better to have a VAT holiday and a permanent price cap so that these customers are not second-class energy consumers?
Martin McCluskey
Not every household will decide to fill up now, at the point when the prices are so high. In addition, we have made it clear that this money is going through the crisis and resilience fund, which means that it is focused on low-income people, so we need to be careful not to imply that the funding is at the level that the hon. Gentleman describes. We are making sure that support is getting to people quickly, and that is the absolutely priority.