HIGHLAND MPS CALL FOR FAIR FUEL BILLS

10-Mar-2010

Highland MPs Danny Alexander and Charles Kennedy have this evening presented to the House of Commons the Public petition of hundreds of concerned energy users in the Highlands & Islands.

The Petition calls on the Government to target emergency financial help at those without access to the gas main to match the support currently provided to those on the mains gas that is provided through the six biggest gas and electricity providers.

The petition comes off the back of a Highland Energy Survey that was sent out by Danny Alexander and Charles Kennedy to some 28,000 homes across Badenoch, Strathspey, Nairnshire, Lochaber, Skye, Easter Ross and the Black Isle.

The results of the households survey show:

Only 7% on mains gas

51% in fuel poverty, 21% of which in extreme fuel poverty

70% have seen heating bills rise more than 10% in last year

Only 7% think heating fuel competitively priced

Commenting, Danny Alexander, MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey said:

"The Government cannot keep burying its head in the snow and ignoring the plight of households off the gas grid.

"In presenting this petition Charles and I are joining thousands of our constituents in imploring the government to put these households on a level playing field.

"In many areas there is no alternative to relying on heating oil, LPG or solid fuel to keep warm. Despite this, the market for these fuels is not regulated, leaving prices higher and more volatile. The social tariffs which the Government has negotiated with the 'big six' energy giants do not help with heating fuel bills at all - and when prices soar, there is no immediate system to highlight the problem.

"The Highlands has had snow on the ground and sub zero temperatures since before Christmas. There is no fairness in the coldest parts of the UK, with below average incomes, having to pay the highest percentage of their income on fuel. The government must act to give Highlanders the fair fuel bills they deserve."

Commenting, Charles Kennedy, MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber said:

"This has been a long cold winter right across the UK, but nowhere more so than in the Highlands & Islands.

"With every frost, the budgets of people who rely on heating fuels are being stretched beyond breaking point - and the Government's response so far has been glacial.

"Houses off the mains gas grid are much more likely to be in fuel poverty, but they are among the least likely to receive real help. That must change.

"It simply isn't good enough for Ministers to wonder vaguely about whether credit unions can help. Where they exist, sometimes they can, but it is no answer to the immediate predicament facing a family that cannot afford to refill their tank with oil or LPG during sub-zero conditions."

ENDS