Showing posts with label commitment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commitment. Show all posts
Monday 14 July 2014
Wednesday 6 November 2013
Lucas: Government must retain obligation to tackle fuel poverty
The
Green MP Caroline Lucas will today accuse the Coalition of trying to
“weasel out” of a long-standing duty to eliminate fuel poverty.
Ahead
of today’s Commons debate on fuel prices she has drawn attention to a
move by the Government to abolish its statutory obligation to eliminate
fuel poverty.
Under
the 2000 Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act, the Government has a
duty to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016. However, the Coalition tabled
an amendment to the Energy
Bill in the Lords, which would replace this duty with a commitment
merely to address the situation of people living in fuel poverty,
without any targets or timescale.
Lucas
has tabled an Early Day Motion calling for ambitious fuel poverty
targets to be reinstated, with the support of other MPs on the cross
party parliamentary fuel poverty
group.
The
motion urges Government and parliament to support an amendment from
crossbench peer Lord O’Neill of Clackmannan, which reintroduces energy
efficiency targets in order
to ensure robust action to eradicate fuel poverty.
Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, said:
It’s a scandal that millions of households in England are currently in fuel poverty, with this figure set to grow dramatically as wages fall and energy costs rise. The Coalition is weaselling out of its duty to help people struggling with cold homes and high fuel bills. Without targets set in legislation, there is no guarantee that this or any future government will take the necessary action on fuel poverty.The Coalition must rethink its decision to downgrade its commitment to ending fuel poverty and recognise that energy efficiency provides the only cost effective long-term solution to unaffordable energy bills. This needs to be a higher priority for all politicians. Having clear fuel poverty and energy efficiency objectives in primary legislation is a crucial first step.This would help drive a nationwide upgrade to the housing stock, which would be a great boost for the energy efficiency industry and jobs too.
Labels:
Caroline Lucas,
Coalition,
commitment,
fuel poverty,
Government,
green party
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