Fuel and Energy Provision (Hansard, 31 October 1989)

§ Mr. John Hughes (Coventry, North-East)
I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to require the provision of essential fuel and energy to each home, to guarantee appliances, to prevent the entry to premises without prior recorded legally authorised notice; to prevent the unauthorised removal of a fuel measuring device; to abolish standing charges; to establish local authority monitoring committees; and for connected purposes. After disasters such as Lockerbie, Piper Alpha and King's Cross, hon. Members from all parties demanded inquiries and measures that would prevent further unnecessary loss of life. My Fuel and Energy Provision Bill incorporates the values that those hon. Members profess. it sets out to save lives by providing a number of statutory rights. It would spread a safety net for the disadvantaged members of the community—the 39,000 elderly citizens who die annually from hypothermia or diseases of the respiratory system, which will be the major killers in the cold winter months ahead.
On the occasion when I have brought the Fuel and Energy Provision Bill before the House I have wondered why those who sit on the Government Benches so resolutely oppose its progress through the House. Is there some strange logic or formula, of which I am not aware, which determines that the lives of the Hillsborough tragedy victims, or those who are dropped from hijacked airliners, are more precious than those of elderly citizens whose ignominious deaths rate merely a statistical reference or classification as "poor old souls"?
Having assessed the reaction of the House, I have to come to that conclusion, as the unnecessarily astronomical death toll of elderly citizens—39,000 each year—has failed to concern the Government or and the Prime Minister. The right hon. Lady has not been induced to dash with alacrity to the bedsides of the elderly that she has made to the hospital bedsides of tragedy victims. Yet the loss of life among the elderly is a national disaster. It is, however, one which fails to move the Government. Their indifference was demonstrated last week when the Secretary of State for Social Security refused to restore pensions immediately to their index-linked value, which would have given an increase of £12 to a single pensioner and £20 to a couple. Pensioners would not then have had to worry about the never-attainable severe weather payment in the cold winter months ahead.
The elderly are not the only people to suffer. The disabled, single mothers, young children and the unemployed also suffer from fuel poverty which an uncaring Government, the unconcerned British Gas and the uncaring electricity industry fail to address. I received a letter from the managing director, finance, at British Gas, Mr. A. Sutcliffe, who attempted to convey the company's concern for the welfare of the customer. The letter concluded: I believe our record demonstrates that we are fully committed to excellent service and this includes operating in an open and fair manner. That statement is in stark contrast with the reality suffered by Mrs. O'Hanlon of 17 Coronation road, Coventry, who, having arranged for British Gas to visit her home to install a token meter, was forced to visit her doctor because her 18-month-old child was ill. When she returned home, she found that in her absence a British Gas 189 official had forced entry to her property without a warrant and disconnected her meter, leaving her and her child without any source of heat.
The same kind of indifference and lack of concern for the welfare of customers is shown by the electricity industry, which, in the process of clawing back arrears from low-income groups, requires them to feed between £5 and £7 per week into a meter before they receive any electricity for heating or cooking. A recent survey showed that, in more than 90 per cent. of the cases examined, the electricity boards did not know whether the customer's household included pensioners, benefit recipients, sick or disabled persons or young children. The survey concluded that such information has not been sought by the boards.
Because of the lack of time, my Bill will fail to address those problems in this Session of Parliament. In the meantime, local authorities can demonstrate their concern for the many people who spend most of every 24 hours trapped in homes which they cannot heat because they are too poor, because they fear the bill that the postman may bring or because in their desperation they lose sight of what they are doing and an equally sightless bureaucracy disconnects them. Perhaps those homes with ill-fitting windows and doors and poor insulation, which were designed when fuel was cheap, simply will not hold the heat. The heating appliances used may be old or inefficient or require too much of the wrong fuel. Some people are just too poor. Whatever the reason, I believe that more can be done.
Sometimes it is simply a question of knowing what can be done to help. The labyrinth of social services departments, social security officers and advice centres is simply too much for someone who is struggling to keep warm. It is easier to huddle in front of the warm gas fire radiant or the bars of an electric fire than to face the queues and the smug-faced young people who seem to be too busy and who talk too quickly when they explain that it is not really a matter for their department.
I believe that councils across the country can help to resolve that problem. I suggest that councils, under the auspices of the Lord Mayor should form watchdog committees with representatives from the local offices of the Department of Social Security, the gas board, the electricity supply services, welfare workers and a general practitioner. The committee's purpose would primarily be to examine individual cases to see what assistance could be 190 given to people in need. To do that job properly, a freephone helpline would be necessary, so that immediate advice could be sought and so that watchful neighbours could report their worries and be sure of a prompt investigation. I imagine that the committee would need to meet once a week during the critical months. To give the issue the full weight that it deserves, I suggest that the committee should be chaired by the chairman of the local authority, the mayor or his deputy.
Such a service would need publicity, and I am certain that the local media would be only too willing to help. Publicity would have a dual purpose. It would serve people in their homes by involving politicians and local council officials, and it would offer them advice. The advice could be of a general nature, such as stating the principles which govern the help that is available—[Interruption.]

§ Mr. Speaker
It is 4.16 pm. Will the hon. Gentleman bring now his remarks to a close?

§ Mr. Hughes
I think that we need the assistance of Dr. Dolittle.
I am not excepting myself from the amount of work that the committees would generate. I shall be available at any time to assist with their development and work.
The Fuel and Energy Provision Bill will offer a life certificate rather than a death certificate to the elderly. I request that while we are in the process of using or examining the use—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I shall now put the Question.