Skip to main content

1-20 of 323 results for subject:Prices

Member X
Chris Huhne

Type

House

Session

Year

Department

Member

More
Huhne, Chris (323)

Primary member

Answering member

Legislative stage

Legislation

Subject

More

Publisher


Show detailed: On Off
Results: 10 20 50 100
Sort by: Newest first Oldest first

I have been very rapid in my reaction to the EDF announcement and I have been pressing the energy companies and saying that they need to act to inform their customers about the cheapest tariffs. The House last debated this topic in October, when I said that simply expressing concern...

Member
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
11 January 2012
Reference
538 c261
House
House of Commons

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I shall try to take on board your injunction for brevity. Last year, we saw a big energy price rise, which came on top of increasing petrol and food costs. With the cost of gas imports now falling, I welcome today's announcement from EDF, which...

Member
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
11 January 2012
Reference
538 c261
House
House of Commons

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the concern about prepayment meters. It is one thing that we have been looking at closely. Thankfully, people on prepayment meters are not paying more than was previously the case, and that is a step forward. I am sure there is more...

Member
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
11 January 2012
Reference
538 c262
House
House of Commons

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for raising that issue, which I shall address in greater detail. Ofgem is working closely with us on this and I think it is tackling many of these issues. I will give further detail on that. Following the consumer energy summit, at...

Member
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
11 January 2012
Reference
538 c261-2
House
House of Commons

Park homes will be eligible for the green deal. We in the ministerial team are very keen to ensure that park homes, which are often the Cinderella of the housing stock, are looked after, and we are trying our best to ensure that they are eligible for the full array...

Member
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
11 January 2012
Reference
538 c265
House
House of Commons

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. Shale gas is potentially an exciting development that could bring enormous prosperity to the parts of the country where it has been found, such as Lancashire. Provided that all the environmental safeguards are properly in place, it presents the opportunity...

Member
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
11 January 2012
Reference
538 c267
House
House of Commons

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend on the need to continue the whole process of clarifying energy bills and making them simpler so that they are absolutely transparent and people find it easier to switch. That applies to all age groups. Compared to those of us in our 50s,...

Member
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
11 January 2012
Reference
538 c264-5
House
House of Commons

I agree with the hon. Gentleman. Sadly, during tough times people tend to fall behind with energy bills and so can be moved on to prepayment meters. One of the things that it is very important the Department does is try to ensure that those who no longer need to...

Member
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
11 January 2012
Reference
538 c264
House
House of Commons

I will let the right hon. Lady know the information as soon as we have it. When it is available, I will write to her. It is important to get the message across that households can save money not only by switching supplier, but by using less energy. Insulating lofts...

Member
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
11 January 2012
Reference
538 c263
House
House of Commons

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. One of the first things I did on becoming Secretary of State was to ask for a serious look at the issue. It is unfortunately much more complicated than one might suppose at first glance, not least because there is such an enormous...

Member
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
11 January 2012
Reference
538 c263
House
House of Commons

I can only recommend that the hon. Lady look at switching energy supplier to see whether she can find a better deal. We know from Ofgem that people can save substantial sums of money by doing that—£200 a year. Her particular case is obviously regrettable.

Member
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
11 January 2012
Reference
538 c263
House
House of Commons

My hon. Friend makes a good and important point. People who are off-grid have traditionally had to deal with substantially higher costs than those who are on grid, and that continues to be the case. The case for regulating off-grid is weak, because as long as the market is competitive,...

Member
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
11 January 2012
Reference
538 c266-7
House
House of Commons

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The story of energy policy under the previous Government is one of stopping and starting, and of failing to face up to the need for many years to deal with the problem of renewing our energy infrastructure. But we are not dithering or delaying...

Member
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
11 January 2012
Reference
538 c266
House
House of Commons

I very happily exempt the right hon. Gentleman from my strictures about the previous Government's policy, because when he was in the post of Energy Minister he certainly took some tough decisions, but sadly the record over the 13 years is not one of which Labour Members can be proud....

Member
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
11 January 2012
Reference
538 c266
House
House of Commons

The hon. Gentleman's constituency is clearly a perfect place for the green deal, because the ECO subsidy will in part subsidise solid-wall homes with solid-wall insulation. That will be a very substantial step forward for many people who have not been in a position to benefit from energy efficiency because...

Member
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
11 January 2012
Reference
538 c265
House
House of Commons
I am sure that Mr Speaker is aware of Yorkshire's unilateral declaration of independence, which allows twinning arrangements to be entered into between towns in Yorkshire and towns elsewhere in the country. The hon. Gentleman made a serious point about energy costs. I assure him that we are doing more than was done under the Government whom he supported for 13 years to make this market as competitive as possible. We have just had the Ofgem retail review and its proposals to simplify the tariffs dramatically to make things much easier for consumers. We have introduced a clear limit on the period in which the energy companies have to switch people over. We are doing everything we can to make this a competitive market, at both the retail end and the wholesale end. That is the best guarantee for every consumer in this country, be they in Huddersfield or Stoke-on-Trent, that they will get the best possible deal.
Answered by
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Answering body
Department of Energy and Climate Change
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
1 December 2011
Reference
536 c1069
House
House of Commons
I simply do not agree with the hon. Gentleman, who argues that consumers will lose out from the measure. If we had not acted quickly to deal with cost overruns in the sector, not only would we not have been able to provide a sustainable future for those who are employed and have businesses in it, but we would have added so substantially to consumer bills that the impact on many other businesses right across the country, through reduced consumer spending, would have been substantial.
Answered by
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Answering body
Department of Energy and Climate Change
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
1 December 2011
Reference
536 c1065-6
House
House of Commons
First, I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his work on the issue, because it is crucial that people are provided with clear and specific advice on what they can do. He is absolutely right to draw attention to the two large energy companies that have already complied, and yes, indeed, we are bringing pressure to bear to ensure that all the others follow.
Answered by
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Answering body
Department of Energy and Climate Change
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
1 December 2011
Reference
536 c1065
House
House of Commons
One of the key issues is that people who do not have online access should be able to get sources of advice that enable them to take advantage of cheaper tariffs. That may be people who are elderly or not necessarily able to get online, and one of the things that we are attempting to do is to encourage charities in the sector and organisations such as Citizens Advice to provide help when it is not forthcoming from family members. They are also a very important way in which the elderly can be helped to move on to cheaper tariffs, however, and I know that a lot of family members do take the time to ensure that elderly members of the family get cheap tariffs.
Answered by
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Answering body
Department of Energy and Climate Change
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
1 December 2011
Reference
536 c1064-5
House
House of Commons
I am delighted to say, Mr Speaker, that I do have the answer to this question. On 23 November, DECC published its updated assessment of the impact of energy and climate change policies on energy prices and bills. The latest estimates show that the average household dual fuel bill is currently 2% higher than it would have been if energy and climate change policies were not introduced. By 2020, these policies will mean that the average household dual fuel bill will be 7% lower than it would have been in the same year in the absence of our policies.
Answered by
Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)
Answering body
Department of Energy and Climate Change
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
1 December 2011
Reference
536 c1068
House
House of Commons