Lord Dodds of Duncairn
Main Page: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Charles Hendry
The investigation relates chiefly to the domestic oil and gas market, but if there is evidence of unfair and anti-competitive practices in relation to fuel prices on forecourts, I hope that my hon. Friend will write to the OFT, and I should be grateful if she copied me into the correspondence so that I can see the evidence for myself.
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North) (DUP)
Seventy per cent. of households in Northern Ireland depend on domestic heating oil. What discussions has the Minister had with the Northern Ireland Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment about possible regulation of the home heating oil industry and the exorbitant prices that households are now being charged?
Charles Hendry
That too is an important point. The fact that Northern Ireland is significantly more exposed than other parts of the United Kingdom in this regard was one of the driving forces behind our request for the OFT investigation. We will work with the devolved Administrations in any way we can to ensure that any particular examples of difficulties in different parts of the country are taken into account.