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Welsh Affairs

I do not argue with the hon. Gentleman on that point. Let me turn to energy prices and their impact on my constituency, and the wider issue of fuel poverty. In 2004, Brent crude cost $30 a barrel, but today it costs just under $100 a barrel. That has affected more than just our industry. Given that the price of oil has more than doubled, it is remarkable how resilient our economy has been, but the effect on our domestic energy market has been quite dramatic. Production costs for crude oil have not changed much, so there has been a significant increase in oil companies' profits. The latest figures show that profits for Shell were $27.5 billion, for BP $16.2 billion, for Exxon Mobil $40 billion, and for Chevron $4.8 billion in the last quarter of 2007. Energy suppliers' profits have increased significantly, too. British Gas's profits are up 40 per cent. at £1.9 billion, and National Power's profits are up 41 per cent. at £500 million. That high level of profitability has enabled huge investment in Pembrokeshire. Probably more than £1 billion has been invested in the two liquefied natural gas terminals in the constituency of the hon. Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Mr. Crabb), and there has been construction of a 120-mile high-pressure gas pipeline. That has undoubtedly brought local benefits. However, the real impact is on domestic bills. The average annual cost of gas has risen from £370 to £569—a 54 per cent. increase. Electricity prices are up 38 per cent. Heating oil prices more than doubled over the period in question, too. The effect has been an increase in fuel poverty. My right hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn (Mr. Touhig) last night hosted a meeting with National Energy Action Cymru, which gave us some interesting information. There is no question but that the winter fuel allowance has been a huge success in addressing and reducing fuel poverty, but given the high price rises—it is unlikely that there will be significant falls—the number of people in fuel poverty in Wales is likely to increase substantially. It increased between 2004 and 2006 by over 100,000, and for every 10 per cent. rise in energy costs, 48,000 more people in Wales go into fuel poverty. I agree with suggestions that the first thing that we should do is ensure that energy suppliers do not apply a surcharge to those who have prepayment meters. On average, people who use a prepayment meter pay £127 more than those who pay by direct debit, although they are among the poorest people. We should make sure that all the energy suppliers end that surcharge—that penalty on being poor in Wales. and on using a prepayment meter. One supplier has already done so. We should consider extending the winter fuel payment to those who are on benefits—who are in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or some sort of disability payment— but are below the age of 60. Not many people know about the social tariff, but it enables people to get 20 per cent. off their energy bill—that is provided by the energy supplier—and free insulation on their property if they can show that they are vulnerable and in fuel poverty. What is preventing that from being rolled out to far more people is the reluctance to exchange information between the Department for Work and Pensions, local authorities and the energy suppliers. That must be addressed. The excess profits being made by the oil industry and the energy suppliers could fund a national energy efficiency agency. If the income of the oil industry and the energy suppliers were top-sliced, that could be dedicated to making the existing housing stock fuel efficient, thereby tackling fuel poverty and climate change and developing fuel poverty payments. One of the issues that concerns me greatly is that people, in many cases retired, who live in rural parts of Wales and are not connected to the gas supply are totally dependent on oil-fired central heating. As I said, the price of heating oil in the past four years has gone from 20p a litre to 42p a litre, or even higher. We have not seen a change in the winter fuel allowance. I believe that the oil industry has a moral duty to start a social tariff, in the same way as have the other energy suppliers, in order to address that problem.