Martyn Day
Main Page: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)(8 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab)
15. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that changes in gas prices are passed on to consumers.
Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)
16. What steps she is taking to ensure that reductions in the wholesale price of energy are passed on to consumers.
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Amber Rudd)
As the hon. Gentlemen may be aware, average domestic gas prices fell by £37 during 2015. Six major suppliers have announced a further cut in their tariffs; two more have announced that this morning. It is a good start, but the Government expect all suppliers to pass on reductions in the costs of supplying energy to consumers. I have met all the major energy suppliers in recent months to make that point clear.
Martyn Day
Does the Secretary of State think that the Competition and Markets Authority should, as part of its investigation into the energy market, introduce measures to make switching suppliers easier, as the consumer group Which? has called for?
Amber Rudd
Like the hon. Gentleman, I am impatient to receive the comments of the Competition and Markets Authority. It was predominately to address the difficulties with switching and the difficulties that some consumers find in engaging with the energy market that the Prime Minister referred the energy market, via Ofgem, to the authority. I certainly hope that it comes forward with such suggestions.