Proceeding contribution from Lord Barker of Battle (Conservative) in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 7 July 2010. It occurred during Adjournment debate on Fuel Poverty (Rural Britain).
Fuel Poverty (Rural Britain)
I am afraid that I do not have time. We want to go further to ensure that support is available. The carbon emissions reduction target will raise more than £1 billion, which is much greater than under the Warm Front programme. Potentially there is a significant amount of revenue, but it needs to be much more focused. I welcome the thoughts of all hon. Members in the Chamber today about how we should focus on the fuel-poor. We will be considering reforming the supplier obligation, so that there is no hiatus beyond the CERT extension in 2012. There is a new deal—a green deal—and there will be a new supplier obligation. Real, substantial resources will be made available for the long term, and we are absolutely certain that we need to continue to deliver for the fuel-poor. However, fundamentally, we cannot keep chasing the fuel price and subsidising fossil fuels. We need to spend the money we have on investment in building infrastructure to make homes not only warmer, but cheaper to heat in the long term. We must reduce people's dependency—whether they are on-grid or off—on gas, coal and oil. I again congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal on initiating the debate. I am sorry that I have not been able to answer everyone's questions, but I am sure that this is the first of many Westminster Hall debates on this vital issue.
Secondary information
- Type
- Proceeding contribution
- Reference
- 513 c92-3WH
- Session
- 2010-12
- Chamber / Committee
- Westminster Hall
- Subjects
- Costs Grants Fuel poverty Heating Warm front scheme Natural gas Prices Liquefied petroleum gas Rural areas Social tariffs
- Link
- View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk
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