Labour has claimed four million households in fuel poverty will face a winter of “cold homes or astronomical bills” because the Government dithered introducing a price cap on energy tariffs.
Shadow energy secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey asked Greg Clark why it had taken “so long” for the cap to be introduced.
She criticised the proposals, outlined in draft legislation published on Thursday, for being a “sticking plaster” and said “radical reform of the market” was necessary.
Following a statement from the Energy Secretary in the Commons, Ms Long-Bailey said: “Due to the Government’s dithering, the four million households in fuel poverty – almost one million of which includes a disabled person – will now face another winter of cold homes or astronomical bills.”
She said Labour had been calling for a price cap “for a number of years”, but said more clarity was still needed despite the legislation.
Ms Long-Bailey asked Mr Clark to confirm whether the cap would be relative or absolute, how long the passage of the Bill would take, and by how much he expected household bills to be reduced.
She then asked: “Does the Secretary of State accept that a price cap, although welcome, is only a sticking plaster and radical reform of the market is necessary?”
Following a statement from the Energy Secretary in the Commons, Ms Long-Bailey said: “Due to the Government’s dithering, the four million households in fuel poverty – almost one million of which includes a disabled person – will now face another winter of cold homes or astronomical bills.”
She said Labour had been calling for a price cap “for a number of years”, but said more clarity was still needed despite the legislation.
Ms Long-Bailey asked Mr Clark to confirm whether the cap would be relative or absolute, how long the passage of the Bill would take, and by how much he expected household bills to be reduced.
She then asked: “Does the Secretary of State accept that a price cap, although welcome, is only a sticking plaster and radical reform of the market is necessary?”
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