Cost of Heating Oil Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
James Wild
Main Page: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)Department Debates - View all James Wild's debates with the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
(1 day, 11 hours ago)
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James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)
I congratulate my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Steff Aquarone), on securing the debate.
In North West Norfolk, more than 20,000 households are off the gas grid. When people are struggling, urgent support is needed, so I welcome the crisis fund that Norfolk county council has established and the fact that the Conservative-led administration chose to double the funding to £6 million. Although that support is focused on people in need, I reiterate that that is not limited solely to people on benefits. Local authorities have discretion, and I have been told by the council that households earning around £35,000 would qualify, so I encourage anyone who is in need to apply to the council. Clearly, there is concern about the adequacy of those funds, which I raised with the Energy Secretary. I would be grateful if the Minister could confirm that his Department is monitoring in real time the payments that are going out.
Like other Members, I have been helping constituents who have had orders cancelled or who have had to accept higher prices for existing orders. I am glad that Goff Petroleum, one of the main providers in Norfolk, agreed to honour their prices, even taking a loss to do so. We should recognise that the just-in-time model that many firms in the industry use exposes them, and thus customers too, to shocks.
We need to see reform in the market: greater pricing transparency and formalised priority support for vulnerable people. We should also recognise that this is an issue for businesses, not just for households. Rural areas do not only face higher costs for heating oil. Prices at the pump have leapt—and in the Budget the Chancellor committed to increase fuel duty by 5p from September, after 14 years of freezes under the previous Conservative Government. That is the wrong choice and puts higher costs on to drivers and businesses. While international factors are largely at play, the Government can choose to act to ease the burden of tax and levy. That is what they should be doing. The plans that we have set out would do that and would save people £200.