Contribution
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Barker. I thank the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) for securing this important debate and for his thoughtful and eloquent speech. We have had a good debate this afternoon, which has highlighted the additional costs that fall upon our rural communities. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Fylde (Mr Snowden) for his contribution, and I trust that he will not forget to top up his tank before Christmas. The hon. Member for South West Norfolk (Terry Jermy) highlighted the need for local councils to take a proactive approach to getting Government money out the door as quickly as possible. It seems that some councils are not doing that terribly effectively.
About 1.4 million households across the UK rely on heating oil, predominantly in rural areas, including many in my constituency. For those households, using heating oil is not a choice. Most are not connected to the mains gas network and have little practical alternative when it comes to heating their homes. They face particular challenges. They are exposed to unpredictable delivery costs and the burden of paying hundreds, sometimes thousands of pounds, up front to fill their oil tanks. Many are older and more vulnerable households, which simply cannot absorb sudden price shocks.
Recent international developments have demonstrated just how exposed those households have become. Disruption to oil supplies and shipping routes drove up household prices, with consequences quickly felt here in the UK. Households that had been paying £300 for 500 litres of heating oil suddenly faced quotes of between £600 and £1,000. For many families, that was simply unaffordable.
The Conservatives raised these concerns with the Government at the time and, after rather too much delay, some support was eventually provided through the crisis and resilience fund. While welcome, it addressed the consequences rather than the cause of the problem. That is why the Competition and Markets Authority’s investigation was so important. Following reports of cancelled orders, sudden price increases and demands for additional payments, the CMA identified significant concerns in the way that parts of the market were operating. The CMA intervened where suppliers may have breached contractual obligations by cancelling orders after prices surged, and secured compensation for affected customers. I welcome that intervention. However, investigations after the damage has already been done do not fix the issue.
I know that the Minister will refer to the Government’s intention to regulate the heating oil sector. I welcome the fact that action is finally being considered, but households deserve more than good intentions. Can the Minister tell us when the Government expect to implement the CMA’s recommendations and when consumers can expect to see tangible improvements? What timetable has been set for the Government’s work on price transparency and consumer choice, and when will Parliament be updated on the progress? Those questions matter because winter does not wait for reviews, assessments or consultations.
Some of the announcements in the Budget may have sounded impressive on the day, but for many households they will hardly be noticed. There may be £100 for certain households, but when some people’s energy bills are set to rise by more than £500, many will reasonably ask, “What was the point?” It is clear, however, that the Chancellor has at least noticed the Conservatives’ cheap power plan. Cutting VAT and scrapping carbon levies on energy bills—I find myself wondering where he might have got those ideas from. The broader problem is that the Government appear more interested in managing the consequences of high energy prices than in addressing their causes.