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 am grateful for that. Let me make a suggestion. At the moment, we have a situation in which two Government quangos are saying contradictory things. Ofgem says that everything is under control, yet just last week Consumer Focus said that every household is paying £74 a year too much. As a suggestion, can the Secretary of State cut through the confusion and end it once and for all by a swift, forensic reference to the Competition Commission on that narrow point?

Answer: I will look at the hon. Gentleman's proposal. Personally, I am worried about references to the Competition Commission, apart from the most extreme cases and I will tell him why: it is a lengthy process, which will not yield results on behalf of the consumer. However, I will look at the point that he raises and I undertake to discuss it with Ofgem.

Secondary information