Fuel Poverty (Wales)

Debate between Nia Griffith and Luciana Berger

Tuesday 19th March 2013 Westminster Hall

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Clwyd (Chris Ruane) on not only securing the debate, but his excellent speech on behalf of his constituents and the people of Wales. I extend those congratulations to all hon. Members who have taken part in the debate. It is clear from the contributions of Members of all parties that fuel poverty is a serious problem in Wales and a subject on which many have campaigned on behalf of their constituents. We heard excellent contributions, and I want to use my time to pick up on a few of the themes that have emerged over the course of the past hour.

Despite falling by 1.75 million people under the previous Labour Government, it is clear that fuel poverty in Wales and across the UK is now increasing rapidly. The Hills fuel poverty review, which was commissioned by the Government, estimates that 8.5 million homes will be in fuel poverty by 2016, which is up from the 4.75 million homes that were in fuel poverty in 2010, according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change website. With the average energy bill going up by more than £300 since the coalition came to power and Government help to support the fuel-poor being cut, it is hardly surprising that fewer and fewer households can afford to keep warm.

My hon. Friend the Member for Swansea East (Mrs James) told us the cost of a dual fuel bill, but I am sorry to say that the figure is even worse. I read on Sunday that the average dual electricity and gas bill is now £1,410 a year, although I appreciate that many customers in Wales are off-grid. My hon. Friends the Members for Vale of Clwyd and for Llanelli (Nia Griffith) spoke about the challenges of switching, particularly for vulnerable customers and those who do not have a bank account, or who do not have access to the internet or know how to use it, particularly where there is a digital divide. My hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn (Chris Evans) spoken eloquently and in detail about the particular challenges that people with cancer face in paying their fuel bills.

Although there are many people who are struggling with the impact of rising prices, today’s debate has highlighted that the impact is felt nowhere more severely than in Wales. Many Members referred to the double whammy of rising bills and falling living standards that is hitting households in Wales right now. The hon. Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Roger Williams) eloquently presented the issue: in 2013, it is a shocking indictment that people have to choose between eating and heating. We are the seventh most industrialised nation in the world, and the Government should urgently consider the fact that 250,000 people in our country have accessed emergency food aid.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Newport East (Jessica Morden) rightly pointed out, not only are Welsh consumers paying the highest energy prices of anyone in the UK, but they are hit disproportionately hard by the Government’s tax and benefit changes. We heard reference to the TUC report published last week, which showed a 7% reduction in household income in Wales since 2010. The effect is clear: higher fuel poverty in Wales. The 2012 DECC annual report on fuel poverty statistics shows that the proportion of households in fuel poverty across the UK is 18.6%, but the figure in Wales is 26.2%—more than a quarter of households. Consumer Focus estimates that about 420,000 households in Wales are in fuel poverty, which is more than a third of the population and a higher proportion than in any region of England.

We heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn about how the Welsh Labour Government are acting in response to the standard of living crisis. They are providing help for low-income and vulnerable households to reduce their energy bills and heat their homes through something that I learned about recently—the Nest scheme.

My hon. Friend the Member for Llanelli told us that many homes in Wales are not on mains gas, or require urgent improvements to their energy efficiency, and it is Labour in Wales that is investing £100 million over five years through the Nest scheme to improve the energy efficiency of about 4,000 eligible homes each year. It is estimated that the energy improvement packages will deliver annual benefits averaging £550 per household, and 6,700 of them have been installed since April 2011.

The Labour Government in Wales are helping the fuel poor and endeavouring to eradicate fuel poverty, and they have a target that they take very seriously. I am sorry to say that the same cannot be said for the coalition Government here in Westminster. Sadly, the Minister admitted when the Energy Bill was in Committee that we are not going to meet our targets to eradicate fuel poverty.

Unfortunately, as we have already heard, the Government have gutted support for the fuel-poor since coming to power. The Warm Front scheme, which helped more than 2 million households over 10 years to improve their heating and insulation, was scrapped, and lower-cost social tariffs have replaced the warm home discount, offering far less help to far fewer people. We have also seen the end of the carbon emissions reduction target scheme and the community energy saving programme, which together insulated more than 4.2 million lofts and 2.1 million cavity walls across the UK, lowering carbon emissions and reducing energy bills for millions. This is the first time since the 1970s that we do not have a Treasury-funded scheme to tackle fuel poverty across the UK, and according to analysis by National Energy Action, the net result of the Government’s cuts is that funding this year for the fuel-poor and for low-income and vulnerable households will be half what it was last year.

[Nia Griffith]

Does my hon. Friend share the very real concerns about the green deal? Even for better-off consumers, it does not provide a very attractive deal, and it does absolutely nothing for those who struggle to make ends meet.