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Fuel Poverty

That is obviously a possibility. The hon. Gentleman has also pre-empted a point on which I shall expand later. The resource implications of a general increase in the winter fuel payment must be considered, but I strongly believe that there ought to be such an increase. Because it is a universal payment, an increase in line with those in energy costs would have substantial implications for the Government. In addition, the nature of energy prices is that they go down sometimes instead of up, and there could be all sorts of difficulties if winter fuel payments went up one year and down another. One suggestion that we floated in our report, and that I suggest the Department should investigate, is an additional substantial winter fuel payment to go specifically towards fuel costs. It would effectively be a fuel voucher, paid in addition to the winter fuel payment to defined vulnerable groups—perhaps to all pensioners on pension credit or to other vulnerable households. It would rise in line with energy prices, if they rose beyond certain thresholds, and could be funded by a levy on energy suppliers or payments from them. When prices go up, energy suppliers tend to make more profit, so it seems fair that they should contribute to meeting the energy costs of those who are the most vulnerable. Such a scheme would not produce an extra cost to the Government, but would ensure a direct additional payment to those in particularly vulnerable situations that would be related directly to energy cost increases imposed by suppliers.