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Energy Bill [Lords]

It is no exaggeration to say that the citizens of Northumberland are often faced with a straight choice between heating and eating. I am lucky enough to represent 1,150 square miles of south and west Northumberland, and while in the rest of the country 6 million people—one in 10—may suffer from fuel poverty, it is well accepted in my constituency that the position is far worse there. The north-east has the second highest level of fuel poverty in the country, and we take the issue very seriously. I support what the Government are doing in the Bill and with the green deal. It is a wonderful step forward. Listening to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger), one might have believed that nothing had happened since the present Government came to office, that everything had been rosy in the preceding 13 years, and that fuel poverty magically mushroomed out of nowhere in May 2010. I want to discuss energy efficiency and fuel poverty in the context of new clause 19, which was presented very impressively by my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Baron). My constituency is particularly affected in the context of oil and liquefied petroleum gas, although we are obviously affected by other energy issues. I applaud all the efforts to improve the energy efficiency of homes through the green deal, but I am concerned about, in particular, the variances in the price of heating oil and LPG. We discussed the issue during an important debate in Westminster Hall in January to which a number of Members, including the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen), made impressive contributions. I hope that that debate is a source of ongoing development in relation not just to the Bill and the green deal, but to other proposals made by the Government. Fuel poverty is not an abstract issue. It is talked of as though it affects other people, but account should be taken of the sheer increase in fuel prices. The price of heating oil in Northumberland, for instance, rose from approximately 41p to 71p in the three months between September and December last year. That is a massive price rise. Everyone accepts that prices are affected by consumption and by oil and gas prices generally, but there is undoubtedly an element of profiteering, and naked monopolies and cartels have been created by individual companies. We have campaigned strongly on the issue. It is well known that I am no fan of the company known as DCC Energy. I am pleased to say that it is being subjected to an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading, which was launched on 14 March this year and will report in October. I hope very much that the OFT will fully address the difficulties that individuals face. I touch upon this matter because it relates to fuel poverty and energy efficiency. We in Northumberland have at least 20 or 21 fuel companies that provide heating oils and other products. If the practice had not been made public by Members and The Sunday Times—whose campaign I applaud and endorse—it would not be known that all but four of those companies are owned by DCC Energy. Long-standing customers of, for instance, a heating oil company that had been bought-out might be told, ““We're the independent and long-established company that you've always purchased from,”” when that was manifestly not the case. That company is now clearly controlled by a parent company.