§ 13. Mr. Ovendenasked the Secretary of State for Energy what consideration he has given to extending the scheme for assistance for certain consumers with electricity bills to cover other types of fuel.
§ 20. Mrs. Bainasked the Secretary of State for Energy what new plans his Department has in the current year to ease pressure on low income groups in meeting fuel bills.
§ Dr. John A. CunninghamDetails of the revised scheme to help recipients of supplementary benefit and family income supplement with their electricity bills this winter were announced on 18th October. They include a payment of £5 to be made to recipients of these benefits in the week commencing 16th January 1978. This is intended to help with electricity costs but may be used in whole or in part towards other fuel costs. Beneficiaries may also claim 25 per cent. of the amount of electricity board bills which exceed £20. To extend the scheme as a whole to other fuels would be administratively very difficult.
§ Mr. OvendenWill my hon. Friend accept that, whilst the continuation of the electricity scheme and the improvements that he has made are extremely welcome, many of our poorest families and poorest pensioners are dependent upon solid fuel heating rather than upon electricity? They 20 get very little out of this scheme. Will my hon. Friend, therefore, look at it again and try to overcome these administrative problems so that we may make sure that such people can afford heating this winter?
§ Dr. CunninghamClearly we cannot change the provisions of the scheme for this winter. However, to deal with my hon. Friend's point, if the people to whom he refers are in receipt of supplementary benefit or family income supplement they will get a payment of £5, which they can use in whatever way they decide.
§ Mrs. BainDoes the Minister realise that his response to a great human problem will be regarded as a very timid and bureaucratic one, ignoring, as it does, the needs of a vast section of the community, namely, deprived people? Will he have discussions with the Health Education Council, which is deeply concerned about the health, welfare and even the lives of old people during the coming winter?
§ Dr. CunninghamThe hon. Lady must not confuse the admittedly limited role and scope of this scheme with the much wider role and responsibilities of the Department of Health and Social Security.
§ Mr. Mike ThomasCan my hon. Friend give us some information about the take-up of the old scheme, and can he tell us why there is a £20 limit on the new scheme, because that seems to prevent those who depend on other fuels from getting the full benefit?
§ Dr. CunninghamTo deal with the second part of the question first, there is no limit. For bills up to £20, people will receive automatically £5 in cash. For bills in excess of £20, people can claim additional benefit. For example, if the bill is £40, the entitlement is £10, £5 of which will be paid automatically. They will be entitled to the other £5 as well, and they will receive it. Therefore, the discount is still 25 per cent. of the bill, whatever it may be, provided that the people claiming the discount are in those categories.
Last year—[Interruption.] If Conservative Members want to mouth objections about getting on with it, perhaps it means that they do not really want to hear what the Government are doing to help people to pay their bills. We think that final figures for the scheme for last 21 year will amount to 70 per cent. of those eligible.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyDoes the Minister expect to announce the results of any consultations with the Department of the Environment about the excessive heating costs for tenants of local authority properties who are stuck with high-cost electrical heating?
§ Dr. CunninghamThe Department of the Environment, rather than ourselves, is looking at this problem in some detail. Clearly we are concerned about it too. I cannot give the hon. Gentleman a specific date when the Department of the Environment expects to reach any conclusions, but perhaps I may write to him about it.