Brecon and Radnorshire’s Welsh Liberal Democrat Roger Williams MP secured a debate on Fuel Poverty and Cold Homes in the House of Commons.
In yesterday’s debate Roger Williams MP raised concerns about fuel poverty and cold homes in his constituency, Brecon and Radnorshire, and in the UK as a whole. The Minister of State for Energy was present to respond to the concerns Roger raised. The debate was linked to ‘Cold Homes Week’, organised by the Energy Bill Revolution which is a campaign that focuses on fighting fuel poverty in the UK. The Energy Bill Revolution finds that the core problem lies with the poor heat efficiency of our housing stock.
During the debate Roger emphasised the necessity of reducing the number of households that are left off-grid. Achieving this would make a huge difference to fuel poverty in such communities. Roger also stressed that there should be a larger focus on the quality of housing. Roger urged the Minister to extend the gas mains to communities that are currently not benefiting from them and to invest in insulating homes. That would go a long way in solving fuel poverty in the long run.
Commenting, Roger Williams MP said:
“Cold homes and high fuel prices are a constant concern for my constituents and people right across the UK. One of the real concerns in Brecon and Radnorshire is the number of people who do not have access to main gas and have dear fuel for eating and cooking and cannot benefit from Dual Fuel Tariffs. At least three villages in my constituency could have their fuel poverty problems greatly reduced if they could have mains gas installed. Abercraf, a former mining village relied on free coal, Llangynidr with the mains running the other side of the Usk river and Howey only needing a short extension from Llandrindod Wells, remain excluded from mains gas.
“The UK has relatively low energy prices and high incomes compared with much of Europe, yet has a bigger fuel poverty problem due to poor quality housing. We have to start focusing on the cause of the problem, rather than solely focus on short-term solutions. Investing in better housing should be the top infrastructure priority.
“During the debate I have urged the Minister to extend the gas mains to communities that are currently not benefiting from them and to invest in insulating homes. That would go a long way in solving fuel poverty in the long run.”
