Devastating blow for households in fuel poverty

icefall

This was a bill that did not go through because not enough mp's were there to vote:eek:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/consumer_affairs/article5945552.ece

http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/en/content/cms/News___Press/fuel_pov_Bill_fails/fuel_pov_Bill_fails.aspx

Cardew

The problem with this private members Bill is that it placed the onus of providing a cheap tariff for those in fuel poverty on the Utility companies.

All the companies would do is cross-subsidise tariffs. Other customers would pay more - Robbing Peter to pay Paul.

It is the Government's responsibility to provide financial assistance to those it is deemed require help for any reason.

If it is felt that Fuel poverty(10% of disposable income on fuel) is deserving of an allowance, then the Government should provide the financial assistance; not pass the buck to private companies to carry out the means testing and supply the financial help.

Plushchris

Those social tariffs that the companies come up with are usually rubbish anyway, just a discount off the standard rates. Meaning in a lot of cases better deals were available to people who could pay by DD and have paperless billing.

I agree with Cardew, its something the government should implement, not just leave it to the energy companies who are only out for themselves.

It should be in some form of vouchers or something that can used towards fuel, I think the current pensioners fuel allowance shoud be paid in the same way and not as a lump sum of cash into their bank account which hardly ever gets used on gas and electricity but more like christmas presents and their winter holiday (OH used to work in a bank and come November there would be a queue of old people asking when the allowance was being paid and saying what they were gonna spend it on)

Ken68

I say Plus, that;s not fair comment. It is not for you to judge how OAP's spend their allowance, anyway swings and roundabouts as long as the gas bills get paid.
If WFA was routed via a third party, no end of fingures in the pie. At present it's DWP and the OAP.....er....and the bank.

1carminestocky

No, no, no, no, no. The energy companies have been given the golden chalice of supplying a commodity the whole of the GBP NEEDS, not just WANTS. They have been given an opportunity that so few PRIVATE companies get - a licence to print money, in effect. The fact that they don't make as much as they think they should is down to massive inefficiency IMO. You only have to look at the simply ridculous money BG paid for their NON-FUNCTIONING computer system (HALF A BILLION POUNDS) to realise the ludicrous waste going on in this industry. The companies know the profits are always going to be there (either from the downstream or upstream businesses) so they are incredibly lazy when it comes to running their businesses. These companies just can't have it both ways - it's up to them to protect those in fuel poverty.

Joyful

People can be in Fuel poverty for many different reasons. The Government has a benefits system where they do all the checks. Why should this be duplicated by the private companies? Also why should I have my fuel costs raised so that someone who refuses to work and stay on the dole gets his subsidised( I know that's a very sweeping statement and only applies to a small percentage). I think the companies should continue with what they are doing in helping people reduce their consumption with insulation but if someone does not have enough to heat their home this should be dealt with by the Government.

I also agree that when the Government gives money for fuel allowance it should go on Fuel. Having previously worked in the Debt department of BG I was amazed at people who could not pay their bills using this money for presents etc. Help is available to decrease consumption but it is not up to the Companies to rob Peter to pay Paul. The Government are very good at doing this though.

1carminestocky

I have a solution. Re-nationalise them. That way it's all dealt with by the Govt. Sick to death of these energy companies complaining how hard this business is. Get out then. No-one's forcing you to rip us off with your confusion marketing and dodgy business practices. They remind me of those football refs who are always complaining about how hard it is being a ref. It's not as if someone has a gun to their head forcing them to be a ref, is it? So get out of it and quit with the moaning...

Ken68

Anyway, whisky is heat and so is a Spanish holiday.
And I doubt a debtor will admit to the creditor they have wasted money on presents.

KimYeovil

Why should those too poor to heat their homes be forced to pay even more to subsidise those on approved carriages in the gravy trains? There is no way the legislation would have been implemented fairly. Those vulnerable [sic] groups that qualify for existing social tariffs have more than enough income to pay for the cheapest existing tariffs.

With the recent atrocious announcement by Ofgem about unjust charges things are only going to get worse for the genuine poor.

Premier_2

The Fuel Poverty Bill has been thrown out of parliament because not enough MPs could be bothered to vote.

These are those same people that we elected to represent us and who we pay a minimum of £62,000 per year for them to do so (not including the additional [strike]expenses[/strike] allowances of £60,000 for a second/parents home 10 miles from their own or paying family members £40,000 per year for 'parlimentary research' whilst they are a full time university student)

Remember that when they come knocking on your door within the next 18 months canvassing for your continued support. :cool:

Plushchris

Ken68 wrote: »

I say Plus, that;s not fair comment. It is not for you to judge how OAP's spend their allowance, anyway swings and roundabouts as long as the gas bills get paid.
If WFA was routed via a third party, no end of fingures in the pie. At present it's DWP and the OAP.....er....and the bank.

I wouldnt have to judge anyone if a winter fuel allowance was spent on winter fuel.

Where would the third party come from? Vouchers/tokens are issued then paid to energy supplier as the cash should be. Ensuring that old people do actually have heat through the winter instead of blowing it on Christmas presents etc. then having to sit with the heat off because they say they cant afford the bills.