Speaking in the House of Commons, James Wild MP challenged the Energy and Net Zero Secretary over the funding provided to Norfolk County Council through the Crisis Resilience Fund to ensure it can meet the likely demand and help vulnerable households.
Over 20,000 households rely on heating oil in North West Norfolk which means around 40% of all houses are off the gas grid and largely rely on heating oil and have seen prices more than double since the conflict in Iran began.
Given the large numbers of affected households, James is concerned ministers have given the impression that those affected will receive support but Norfolk County Council is receiving limited funding and demand may exceed that. He asked the Minister what steps they would take in such circumstances to support struggling households.
At Department for Energy Security Questions, James Wild MP said:
“20,000 households across North West Norfolk and 140,000 across the county are off the gas grid and paying much higher prices for heating oil, ministers are creating an expectation that support will be there for those who need it.
“So, what action will the government be taking should Norfolk County Council not be able to meet the demand and provide support through the Crisis and Resilience Fund to those struggling?”
Responding, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband MP said:
“He asks a really important question and the reason we decided to put the money into the Crisis and Resilience fund essentially three weeks after this crisis began is to get the money out the door quickly, it took 200 days in the last crisis.
“He asks an important question about both local authorities’ provision of support and what happens if they don’t have the funds. That is something we are working intensely on and keeping closely in touch with them we want the help to go to those who need it and we want to work with local authorities to make sure it happens.”
James has been taking up urgent issues with companies on behalf of constituents and provided examples to ministers and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to protect consumers and act against unfair practices.
