Home Energy Conservation Grants (Hansard, 26 March 1996)

§ 11. Mr. Nigel Griffiths
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the number of senior citizen households over 60 years of age who will not now be eligible for home energy conservation grants because of the introduction of means-testing. [20946]

§ Mr. Robert B. Jones
None.

§ Mr. Griffiths
When fewer than one in 10 senior citizens are able to claim those grants and when up to 6 million of them live in houses without proper home insulation, is it not despicable that the Government are abolishing the non-means-tested insulation grants for pensioners? Is that not a cynical betrayal of the Government's promise to help pensioners with the VAT that they have imposed on heating and cooking?

§ Mr. Jones
The hon. Gentleman says that we are abolishing the grants. Since they are continuing to be paid, he is clearly talking rubbish.

§ Mrs. Peacock
How many such grants have been given since 1991 and what amount of money has been involved?

§ Mr. Jones
Close on 2 million people have benefited and that is an important contribution to ensuring that the fuel-poor have a higher standard of living in the future.

§ Ms Ruddock
Surely the Minister is not denying that the criteria for eligibility for the scheme have been changed. Indeed, the consequence of cutting the budget by one third and introducing new criteria is that 200,000 desperate households have applied and are on a waiting list. Is the Minister aware that three quarters of those people who have applied for the grant in the past quarter will not get their work done until the new financial year?
When they get it done, they and their applications will use up half the budget for that financial year. Does that not make complete nonsense of the Government's energy conservation policy and of their commitment to so-called sustainable development?

§ Mr. Jones
As I have said in the House several times, £30 million was added to HEES in anticipation of the second stage of value added tax, which was rejected by the House. Therefore, the VAT compensation package was altered. Of course I understand the hon. Lady's point about those who are better off edging out the fuel poor. It is rather deplorable that some organisations in society are currently deliberately promoting the scheme to those people, thus disadvantaging the people whom we most wish to target. Perhaps I could remind the hon. Lady that pressure for amending the scheme so that it did not extend to those who were much better off came from neighbourhood energy action and others.

§ Mr. Nigel Griffiths
On a point of order, Madam Speaker. As the Minister has not mastered his brief and has perhaps inadvertently misled the House, I shall seek to raise this matter on the Adjournment.