Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Greg Clark (Conservative). It was answered on Thursday, 9 July 2009 on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Domestic Energy Tariffs

Question: I welcome the Secretary of State back from his paternity leave. He is looking fantastically well, considering that he is being woken every two hours of the night by bawling and screaming—but perhaps he is not returning the Prime Minister's calls these days. Does the Secretary of State think that the relationship between wholesale and retail gas prices is sufficiently transparent?

Answer: I think that we have brought greater transparency to it. The hon. Gentleman will know that as a result of the announcement made by the Chancellor in the Budget there is now a quarterly publication by Ofgem on the relationship between wholesale and retail prices. As always, I am open to any suggestions about how to improve the situation. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that we need proper transparency so that people can see that when wholesale prices go down, retail prices follow.

Secondary information