Oral Answers to Questions

Graham Stuart Excerpts

Thursday 3rd April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to point out that many households that are off the gas grid and the small number that are off the electricity grid suffer high energy bills. Interestingly, the new analysis we have done for our fuel poverty strategy shows much more clearly than the measures used under the previous policy that that is a key group of people we need to help. That is what we will be doing very soon when we produce our draft fuel poverty strategy, in which he will see a number of measures.

[Mr Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)]

Further to the question asked by my right hon. Friend the Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Sir Alan Beith), when will off-grid rural residents get a fair share of energy company obligation spending? Will the Secretary of State ensure that rule changes do not create another loophole by focusing on off-grid customers in general rather than off-grid rural customers in particular?

[Mr Davey]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. If he reads the consultation on the changes that we want to make to the energy company obligation, he will see that part of that would involve a much bigger part of the ECO going to off-gas grid households.