People's Right to Fuel (Hansard, 18 February 1987)

§ Mr. Dennis Canavan (Falkirk, West)

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to stop the disconnection of domestic fuel supplies in cases of hardship; to introduce a comprehensive system of heating allowances and insulation grants; and for related purposes.

This is my fifth attempt to introduce such a Bill. Since my first attempt four years ago, domestic fuel disconnections have increased alarmingly, no doubt largely due to the increase in mass unemployment and the inadequacy of pensions and other benefits. Last year, there were 158,586 domestic fuel disconnections compared with 146,000 in the previous year—an increase of about 9 per cent. In the case of the recently privatised British Gas, the increase was 27 per cent. during the same period. As for the electricity hoards, two of the worst offenders are the North of Scotland hydro-electric board, with an increase in domestic fuel disconnections of 28 per cent., and the South of Scotland electricity board, with an increase of 25 per cent. during that period.

Recently, the Policy Studies Institute conducted research on individual cases and estimated that 90 per cent. of the people who are suffering from the effect of disconnection are special cases which are specifically mentioned in the existing voluntary code of practice. Those special cases include families on low incomes, families on supplementary benefit and family income supplement, the unemployed, the elderly, the sick, the disabled and families with young children. Recently, considerable publicity was given in Scotland to the case of a 79-year-old pensioner whose electricity supply was cut off by the South of Scotland electricity board. Clearly, the existing voluntary code of practice is not working. These people require the statutory protection which my Bill would give.

The voluntary code would be replaced by a statutory code. Disconnections of domestic fuel supplies would not he allowed unless the electricity hoard gained a court order. Surely, if a landlord is not entitled to evict a person from a house without a court order, the electricity and gas hoards should not be allowed to disconnect domestic fuel supplies without one. Of course, a court order would be issued only if it were proved that no hardship would arise from the disconnection.

That is the negative side of my Bill. On the positive side, I should like to tackle the root cause of disconnection—the growing incidence of fuel poverty which has been exacerbated by the escalation in gas and electricity prices since 1979, when the Conservative party took office—an increase of 134.8 per cent. in gas prices and of 94.1 per cent. for electricity. Those figures are considerably above the corresponding increase in the retail prices index.

My Bill proposes the introduction of a comprehensive system of heating allowances. There has been a lot of publicity about severe weather payments since the turn of the year. However, such a payment amounts to only £5 per week, which will scarcely buy a bag of coal. The present system is hopelessly inadequate because it helps only a tiny minority of the people who are in need. Under my Bill, 926 there would be a much more generous and comprehensive scheme for all the recipients of supplementary or housing benefit. If that was done, the need for yet another means test would be avoided, but, at the same time, assistance would be targeted to those people who were most in need.

I also propose the introduction of an insulation programme. It is ironic that at a time of a growing awareness in this country and throughout the world about the need for energy conservation, the Government are cutting, instead of extending, the meagre system of grants for insulation. Recent estimates show that no fewer than 15.7 million houses in this country require insulation, or improvements to their existing insulation. In many of those cases, the heat is literally going through the roof.

Conservative Members might ask where the money for those schemes will come from. A good nationwide insulation programme could be financed by the cost of one new nuclear power station. There is over-capacity in some parts of the country. For example, in Scotland we have almost double the generating capacity that we require. A nationwide insulation programme would also provide fobs for many of the construction and allied workers who are on the dole. About 7 million households receive housing benefit or supplementary benefit. If we gave them £5 per week, that would amount to a total cost of £35 million per week for heating allowances. I do not suppose that even Terry Wogan would say that that was "mere peanuts".

Many of this morning's newspapers reported a possible Cabinet leak and suggested that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has about £4 billion to play around with in the forthcoming Budget as a result of alleged underspending. I hope that those reports are true and that there is £4 billion to play around with. I hope that, instead of handing it out by way of tax concessions to his rich friends, the Chancellor will bear in mind those people who are less well off and who are most in need, many of whom have to choose between eating and heating.

Age Concern has estimated that more than 100 old people die every day from cold-related illnesses. That figure is a national scandal to which the House should respond. My Bill is a charter to eradicate fuel poverty from this country. It would literally help to save the lives of many people and also to improve the quality of life for many others. Therefore, I ask the House to support my Bill.