Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rehman Chishti and Lord Barker of Battle

Thursday 27th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Barker]

We certainly want to see more CHP, and we now have a dedicated resource in the Department supporting it. This comes back to the point I made earlier. Labour Members have to decide: are they going to stand up for endless subsidy or support us in driving down the cost of consumer bills? They cannot have it both ways.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

5. What steps he has taken to investigate the practice of energy companies having higher charges for non-direct debit customers.

[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Gregory Barker)]

Energy companies are required under the terms of their licence to ensure that any differences in charges to consumers between different payment methods reflect only the differing costs to the supplier of that particular form of payment. Ofgem is looking at payment differentials, including higher charges for customers who choose not to pay by direct debit, in its competition assessment, which will be published this spring.

[Rehman Chishti]

About 1 million people do not have a bank account. What steps are the Government taking to help those who do not have a bank account and therefore find it impossible to pay by direct debit?

[Gregory Barker]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this important issue. The coalition is absolutely committed to improving access to financial services for the vulnerable, particularly the fuel-poor. As recommended by the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, the Government are seeking a voluntary industry agreement on renewed minimum standards for basic bank accounts. In addition, we have committed nearly £2 million over this year to develop the big energy saving network to ensure that the most vulnerable are getting the best deals they can.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rehman Chishti and Lord Barker of Battle

Thursday 14th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

14. What steps his Department is taking to tackle fuel poverty.

[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Gregory Barker)]

We have in place the green deal and the energy company obligation, which we expect to provide support for at least 230,000 low-income and vulnerable households each year. In addition, our warm home discount scheme supports 2 million households in total, and this winter has already helped more than 1 million of the poorest pensioners. We also make cold weather payments and winter fuel payments.

[Gregory Barker]

My hon. Friend is right and I am sure more could be done. That is why we designed the green deal and the ECO to be flexible and responsive to the needs of a range of energy consumers, particularly the fuel-poor. If my hon. Friend has any particular ideas on that, I would be happy to discuss them with him.

[Rehman Chishti]

Will the Minister provide an update on the Government’s plans to publish a refreshed strategy for tackling fuel poverty this year?

[Gregory Barker]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right; the Government are committed to bringing new ambition and vision to tackling fuel poverty. The last fuel poverty strategy was published 10 years ago, and we will be coming forward this year with an ambitious strategy, pulling together all strands of policy and building on the latest evidence and creative thinking in that area. I would welcome my hon. Friend’s input, given his knowledge and experience in the area.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rehman Chishti and Lord Barker of Battle

Thursday 11th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

The generation tariff payment is not the consideration of any supplier and is therefore outside the scope of VAT. If a commercial company wishes to assign its income to a third party in exchange for the supply and installation of solar panels, will the funder of the panels be able to claim back the input VAT?

[Gregory Barker]

I apologise to my hon. Friend for not quite catching all of his question, but I think it relates to solar panels and VAT. I should be very happy to look at the issue, and if he writes to me, I will examine it in detail.