Heating Oil Support

Joe Morris Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Martin McCluskey]

We are providing action quickly, while the previous Government waited nearly 200 days to provide action. The funding will be available from 1 April, as I said. The Minister for Local Government has today written to local authorities to inform them of the additional funding that will be available to them, but, as the right hon. Member will know, the funds are administered by local government. We are providing clear guidance to people and to local authorities that those funds should be available to people using heating oil and LPG.

[Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)]

I represent about 13,500 households that are off the grid. I welcome the recognition of the scale of the problem in these communities and getting them proper support. I urge the Minister to ensure that regulation for the heating oil sector is brought forward as quickly and effectively as possible, so that constituents are not ripped off far into the future, and to continue to monitor the situation as it progresses so that further action may be taken if required.

[Martin McCluskey]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for all his work to stand up not just for his constituents, but for rural communities more generally. The CMA is investigating heating oil and will come forward with proposals, which we will study to determine whether we need to regulate in this area. But it is clear from what we have heard across the House this evening and in other reports that this market is not working in the way it should.