Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Hepburn Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Barker]

We already have live and up and running a cashback scheme to help people with boiler replacements. We think this is an important market and we are looking at it as part of our stamp duty rebate bonus to help drive the green deal and see what more can be done in the boiler market. I am going to Northern Ireland next month; if there is an opportunity to discuss this issue, I will certainly take it.

[Mr Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow) (Lab)]

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

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

The coalition is committed to tackling fuel poverty. In 10 months, the green deal and energy company obligation have transformed more than 336,000 homes, of which about 250,000 are low income and vulnerable households, helping to cut people’s bills and keep them warm. In addition, this winter more than 2 million households, including more than 1 million of the poorest pensioners, will receive the warm home discount, worth up to £135.

[Mr Hepburn]

Since this Government came to power, the big six energy companies have made an unprecedented profit of up to £3.5 billion, while household gas and electricity bills have almost doubled. When are the Government going to catch up with the Labour party and the general public, take these greedy vultures into hand and freeze bills, rather than give what is effectively a taxpayer’s subsidy to the energy companies to give us a miserly £1 a week off our bills?

[Gregory Barker]

It is a great shame that the hon. Gentleman did not have that view when Labour was in government. Let us not forget that Labour created the big six. There were 14 major energy companies when Labour took office and those were driven into the big six. The big six are Labour’s creation. We are on the side of competition, technological change and the consumer; under this Government, we are putting the consumer first.