Lib Dems aim to put Fuel Poverty Bill back on agenda

9.45.00am GMT Thu 26th Mar 2009

Liberal Democrat MP David Heath's Fuel Poverty Bill was thrown out of Parliament on Friday, March 20th after four hours of debate because so few MPs turned up to vote. The Bill needed 100 votes to get through but only received 89. Norwich's two MPs have come under fire for not attending Parliament on Friday 20th March when the Bill was being discussed.

The Bill could, however, receive further consideration on 12 June.

The Liberal Democrat Group on the city council, mindful of the 14,000 homes in Norwich in fuel poverty and the 80 Norwich people who die each year from cold related deaths brought the motion to the attention of the council who unanimously supported the bill. They will again be raising the issue on 31st March at the next meeting of Norwich City Council.

Liberal Democrat City Councillor Judith Lubbock commented "At Tuesday's full council meeting I am going to let the council know that the Bill was opposed by the Government and that our two Norwich MPs were not present. I am extremely disappointed that they were not there to support this important Bill which could radically improve the lives of those poorest members of our community. I will again call for them to give it their support at the next opportunity on 12th June."

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman for Norwich South, Simon Wright, who had lobbied both MPs in Norwich to attend said:

"This is just the sort of Bill that this Government should be supporting to improve energy efficiency in homes and deliver lower energy bills for families in Norwich. This shows the widening gap between what the Government are saying and what they are actually doing on these issues."

The Bill was backed by organisations including Help the Aged, Friends of the Earth and Consumer Focus.

Notes:

1. Question to Council on 31st March from Liberal Democrat Cllr Judith Lubbock:

"At the last full council a Liberal Democrat motion to support the Private Members Bill on Fuel Poverty was unanimously backed by this council. A Bill which would have seen the launch of a major energy efficiency programme to 'fuel poverty proof' the homes of the fuel poor by bringing them up to the energy efficiency levels enjoyed by most homes. It would also have seen the use of social tariffs to limit vulnerable household's exposure to high energy bills. In short it would have addressed the statistics of

14,000 Norwich homes in fuel poverty and the 80 people who die in Norwich each year from cold related deaths.

Regrettably our Norwich MPs Charles Clarke and Ian Gibson were not present and regrettably the Bill failed to pass its second reading on Friday. The Government opposed it and were able to 'talk it out' using their allotted speaking slot at the end of the debate. David Heath, Liberal Democrat MP

and sponsor of the Bill attempted to stop the Minister from being able to do this by using a 'closure motion' to bring debate to a conclusion. However closure motion required 100 MPs to support it and only 91 MPs were present.

The Bill could receive further consideration on 12th June but the reality is there's little chance without Government support. The Liberal Democrats are looking to apply as much pressure as possible to the Government to support the Bill.

Please will the Portfolio Holder join the Liberal Democrats in lobbying our MPs for their support through letters from this council?"

2. Jonathan Stearn, energy expert for Consumer Focus, said "By not supporting the Bill the government has dramatically failed the poorest consumers. We need urgent action to help the millions of at-risk households and this is a major lost opportunity. This is a sad day for those who are facing a daily

battle to afford to heat their homes."

3. Gordon Lishman of Age Concern said: "This is a huge let-down for the 2.75 million older people living in fuel poverty and many will question why a Government which claims to be concerned about fuel poverty has acted in such a cynical way."

4. Speaking against the Bill, junior energy minister Joan Ruddock stated that the government already had a policy to tackle fuel poverty and that placing an "absolute duty on ministers was unacceptable