Energy Prices

Debate between Tessa Munt and Caroline Flint

Wednesday 11th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Flint]

The truth is that the Government are not on the same planet as most of the rest of us.

What the Minister did not answer is why the number of homes being fitted with insulation went down from 15,000 to six within a year. That is the question the Government should answer today. Let us be clear: when Warm Front is finally abolished next year, this will be the first Administration since the 1970s not to have a Government-funded energy efficiency programme in place. That is disgraceful. But, it is okay, because they say, “Don’t worry, we’ve got the green deal.” However, real questions have to be addressed about whether the green deal will be offered on fair terms and will actually deliver real energy bill savings, and whether it will really work for the public.

Let us start with the interest rates. Time and again, Ministers have been asked what sort of finance will be available to households interested in taking up the green deal. Time and again, they have failed to provide a straight answer. The reality is that if the level of interest is too high, given all the other pressures that families face at the moment, they will just not be interested in taking it up. Polling conducted by the Great British Refurb Campaign found that only 7% of home owners would be interested in taking up the green deal if the interest rate was 6% or more. However, we are hearing that the rate could be as high as 8% or 10%, so I ask the Secretary of State again today whether he can assure us that the green deal will be offered on fair terms and at a fair rate to the public.

In the autumn statement, the Chancellor also announced £200 million to provide incentives for the green deal. We still do not know what that money will be spent on or how it will encourage take-up. Most important of all, the fundamental idea behind the green deal—the “golden rule”, as the Government like to call it—is that the savings from better energy efficiency should cover the costs of the green deal. That is the promise being made to the public, but on looking at the small print, it is clear that the golden rule is not so golden after all. There is no guarantee that bills will not be higher after the green deal. If there is no guarantee, there is a real concern about the potential for mis-selling. The danger of what might happen out there is obvious: people will say, “We’re a Government-backed scheme—we promise you this”, but down the road they will not deliver. This measure will not balance out the costs that people are having to pay. In the light of stories about people not saving money or unwittingly inheriting higher energy bills after buying a green deal property, any credibility the scheme had will be shot to pieces.

[Tessa Munt (Wells) (LD)]

Will the right hon. Lady consider the fact that after a green deal installation, people might find themselves in a home that is at least warm, even if their bill is the same? They might not have saved any money, but they will for the first time be warm in their homes.