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Fuel Poverty

Mark Lazarowicz: My hon. Friend points out that the trend for the number of people in fuel poverty… is going up again quite rapidly. That is why we need new measures to launch a new attack on fuel poverty….

Bob Spink (Castle Point) (Con): The hon. Gentleman has secured a very important and timely debate, but the question is not only about introducing more measures. Does he agree that the measures that have already been introduced, such as the excellent Warm Front, need fine tuning? The Warm Front measure is dysfunctional in one particular way.

Sometimes, when a boiler needs changing, a Warm Front enforced contractor must be sent to my constituency from London, of all places, and the work can cost £2,500 to £2,700. That requires a top-up from the individual, but they cannot afford the top-up, so they do not get the work done. However, a good, local contractor could do the work for £1,200 or £1,500.

Does the hon. Gentleman think that there should be more flexibility to select good, local contractors who can do such work?

Mark Lazarowicz: I do not know the details of the situation in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, but Warm Front and parallel schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland have been extremely important. They need to develop and evolve, however, and they need to be funded to reflect changes in the market and local conditions. Without committing myself on the hon. Gentleman’s specific point, I think that he makes a
good comment about the need to make the most of those schemes and to make them as effective as possible….

Bob Spink: I am grateful, and I shall be very quick. Before the right hon. Gentleman moves away from the issue of honest pricing by energy companies, is he aware that many of those companies forward-buy their energy at fixed costs? Therefore, perhaps it is time to extend Ofgem’s remit so that it can ensure that there is no improper profiteering.

Mr. Clarke: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. If time allows, I intend to discuss Ofgem’s remit, which is of crucial importance.

Charles Hendry (Wealden) (Con): Government policies have made the situation worse. We heard that the Warm Front budget has been cut from £350 million a year to £300 million. That was done deliberately to attract as little notice as possible in the run-up to Christmas. We heard that the overall budget over three years has been cut from a little more than £1 billion to £810 million. In addition, as we heard, the Warm Front scheme has failed many people because of the way in which it was set up. My hon. Friend the Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) rightly highlighted the fact that a scheme in which only approved contractors can be used ends up with a grant being given, but
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because the approved contractor quotes much more than the grant is worth, the individual concerned must either must top it up or go without it, whereas a local contractor could do the job at a much lower price. Those are practical problems that I hope the Minister will address.