Oral Answers to Questions

Tony Baldry Excerpts

Thursday 1st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[John Robertson (Glasgow North West) (Lab)]

18. What steps his Department is taking to help people lower their energy bills.

[Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)]

19. How he will ensure that the forthcoming Energy Bill makes provision to enable consumers to receive the best deal on their energy.

[The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Mr Edward Davey)]

We have three ways to help people lower their energy bills. The first way is to help people save energy through policies such as the carbon emissions reduction target, Warm Front, the green deal and the energy company obligation. The second is to help people switch to get better deals; we will do everything we can, including through the energy Bill, to get people on to the lowest tariffs. The third is to help low-income and vulnerable households with their energy bills directly, through policies such as the warm home discount.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Davey]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman that we need to do more to help the most vulnerable, who are facing the problems of rising electricity and gas bills. One argument that I am putting forward with collective switching is that if we can get community groups and local authorities involved in helping residents in their areas to buy energy together, they will be able to reach out to those vulnerable groups. In announcing “Cheaper Energy Together”, a £5 million competition in which local authorities and community groups can apply to set up these community switching schemes and community buying schemes, I made it clear that the only condition successful schemes had to meet was that they had to show they were helping people who are in fuel poverty—the most vulnerable in our society. I do see this as a route to helping the people whom the hon. Gentleman wants to help.

[Sir Tony Baldry]

Does my right hon. Friend support Ofgem’s proposals to limit each supplier to four tariffs per fuel, per meter and per payment type? Does he agree that tariff simplification, greater transparency and increased competition should be the starting points for energy market reform?

[Mr Davey]

My hon. Friend is right that the Ofgem package contains many attractive proposals. I am not going to say today that we agree with every one of them, but we are studying them. It is right for my Department and my Ministers to study the proposals carefully, because this is a crucial area. I reassure him that we are attracted to many of those ideas, and we will be putting forward our options for consultation and for the Bill.