MP joins bid to tackle fuel poverty

ROYSTON MP Oliver Heald has joined a campaign to tackle the growing problem of fuel poverty. Mr Heald has signed an emergency motion calling for greater access to pricing information to help people get the best energy price for them, and for the benefits

ROYSTON MP Oliver Heald has joined a campaign to tackle the growing problem of fuel poverty.

Mr Heald has signed an emergency motion calling for greater access to pricing information to help people get the best energy price for them, and for the benefits of energy efficiency measures to be made more widely known.

He said: "In this bitter winter, fuel poverty has never been such an important issue, and I am happy to join this important campaign to get the best energy prices for vulnerable people."

It is thought that approximately 5.5million households in the UK live in fuel poverty, and spend more than 10 per cent of their income on fuel costs.

Mr Heald has also hit out at the Government over pensions increases, accusing it of "sleight of hand".

Speaking during a debate in the House of Commons, he said: "Generous announcements are made, yet the overall effect, when we consider the detail, is not as good as it seems.

"Why do ministers not have a look at what such little sleights of hand say to the general public and savers?"

The pension increase, announced in the pre-budget report last November, will see pensions rise by �6 a week.

It was denounced as "truly skinflint" by charity Help the Aged.