Energy and fuel poverty - live webchat with Baroness Verma, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department of Energy & Climate Change

what challenges have you faced, working in a male-dominated sector? what would you say to any younger women thinking of breaking into a traditionally male industry or trade (I'm thinking specifically of my daughter here, who is currently finishing a degree in engineering and thinking of the behaviour she might encounter upon joining the work force - i'm probably being old-fashioned but do worry for her!)

Hello, I must admit with embarrassment tht I'm not the most politically aware or active person - but as a carer of two elderly relatives, one of whom often sits all day without the heating on, I would like to know in simple terms the govmt's plan to make sure that people like her are not verlooked. My husband and I have argued constantly with her about putting the heating on and letting us pay for the extra but she absolutely refuses to allow this (to our complete frustration) and I'm just not htere enough to regualrly turn the heating up myself. We don't have much to spare ourselves, but would rather give anything we can to her than watch her sit out the winter miserably.

as parliamentary under sec of state i understand that you are responsible for representing decc business in the lords. but what exactly does that mean and how does it differ to what happens with the same issues in the commons?

I grew up in the era of CND marches and huge concern about any form of radioactive fuel. Compared to then it seems to have gone very quiet these days. What are the Government's current policies on nuclear energy and how can you reassure us that they are a) beneficial and b) low risk for the public.

And what are the negative effects that fracking can have on human health?

Also - what are the advantages of fracking?

Can you explain the process of fracking? And why is it so controversial?

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/pensioners-annual-living-costs-rise-by-800-10061298.html

This is another reason why the winter fuel allowance should not be made means tested.

Baroness, does this article show that government policies are not helping the elderly?

I'd like to re-iterate that it is not always easy or stress free to "switch" We moved into our house in August. It took ages for Scottish Power to remove the prepayment meter and put us on our preferred tariff. Then more ages to switch to our preferred supplier (oh no we could not switch until they had replaced the meters and then their computers needed several weeks to catch up) Much hassle getting through to them etc. Now we are switched (as of end of January - it's taken that long) they are sending us multiple "final" but also "estimated" bills (about 8 identical copies so far of electricity bill, which we have now paid and about 4 copies of gas bill) . They must have spent about £30 on billing at least. They could reduce their charges significantly if their admin and customer service were not so utterly woeful.

I am so glad I have been able to convince my DG of the importance of keeping warm and eating well. Her heating is on from early morning 5-6 am until 8-9 PM at night when she is usually tucked up in bed. It is also set quite high as her advanced age she does feel the cold. The point I was trying to make (as I am sure you know) durhamjen is that a lot of old people will not heat their home properly as they do not want to pay large heating bills. They begrudge the cost of the electricity and/or gas and so refuse to use it. Whether or not they can afford it. I do not think rich pensioners should get the winter fuel allowance and nor do I think people who are still in full time employment should get it, unless of course they fall into the category of the low income.
Yes perhaps putting it into the pension could be the answer but a blanket allowance for anyone over a certain age is not right when there are young people who cannot afford to heat their homes.

Incidentally my DG also gets an additional top up payment because of her age.

Martin Lewis has some good points here (@10m45s).

But then you say it should be means tested. What good will that do, as many older people resent the idea of means testing as it reminds them of the poor law.
My parents used to be like that, and my mother-in-law.
Off to visit her now. She's just come out of hospital again, and back into the care home. Even though she had an allowance from the NCB, she never had her heating up, and could never understand the idea of keeping a good background heat.

I do not understand your statement that the elderly would not pay the bills. The winter fuel allowance is only £200, and everybody will have to pay more than that over the winter, will they not?
So I'm sorry, I think your idea of means testing is silly.
If you think the rich pensioners should not get it, then putting it into the pension is a better idea as it will then be taxed for those who get more than the tax allowance. At the moment it is not taxed.
Means testing costs more and is inefficient.

Oh don't be silly durhamjen I did not say that at all and you know it !

I said that I know of cases where the elderly will not use their heating because they will not pay the bills!! I do know of two particuilar cases and I expect there will be many more similar elderly people who sit freezing in front of a one bar gas fire with a few thousand tucked away for the grandchildrens inheritence.

So you do not believe ageuk's research on the basis that you know a couple people who do not appear to spend £200 on their fuel bills in the winter,is that right, gillybob?
At the moment it looks as though I have been overpaying my gas bill by more than £30 per month over the last year, but I know it will not look so healthy the next bill I get.

Questions for Baroness Verma; are there any plans to means test the winter fuel payment? Why or why not?

Sorry I have two (much more specific) qs! Fuel poverty is a such a huge and rapidly increasing problem...

Are there any reforms being planned for benefits that address the needs of those in fuel poverty?...

And does the planned Universal Credit include provision that will address fuel poverty in this country?

Hi Baroness

I would like to ask what the governments plans are in regards to giving more financial support to energy efficiency programs??

Hello there, I'd like to know why loyal customers of energy companies are being penalised (and overcharged)...for being loyal! It seems that, once again, corporations are putting themselves before vulnerable individuals, like older people who can not afford to be penalised in this way.

What do you think of the people who deny climate change is even real?!

Apologies for the rant and the rubbish grammar.

I think there are probably quite a lot of elderly people who can well afford to heat their home but choose not to as they will not spend the money. I know one or two. My DG has her state pension, she lives in a council bungalow. She and I have two priorities. She eats well (I make sure of that) and her little bungalow is toasty warm. I have her heating set for her. She has never smoked, drank or went to bingo etc. There will be no inheritance when she goes and she doesn't have thousands squirreled away unlike a couple of her friends (one of whom admits to visiting grandma because her house is so much warmer and her husband refuses to have the heating on). I appreciate that the winter fuel allowance will be a great help to some , but won't make a difference to others who will use it for additional treats. Meanwhile there are some young people and young families who really can't afford to heat their homes and they get no help whatsoever. I'm sorry but I think it shoukd be a mean tested benefit to all households (no matter what the age) with an income below a certain level and nothing to do with age at all.

What do you think about this research from Ageuk?

www.ageuk.org/latest-news/winter-fuel-payments-prevents-12000-deaths-each-year/

That's a lot of deaths prevented each year, for not much money.
If the payments are means tested lots of people will not claim them, out of misplaced pride.
Do you think the payments should be integrated in the state pension?

I've switched quite a few times. Every time we moved we switched to Ecotricity, and have had no problems whatsoever. Why can't the big six companies work the system the same way?
Ecotricity consistently has the fewest complaints.

Why don't more switch -perhaps our experience is not typical, but the hassle we have had is unbelievable. Having spent two years trying to get an accurate fuel bill from company A our duel fuel contract came to an end with the energy company still billing us for gas in a different house instead of our own, somehow they had managed to conflate two addresses and put the meter readings from the other house on our bill, we didn't know what the problem was for a long time as they kept telling us there was an admin error but refused to say what it was. Fortunately we kept accurate meter readings, worked out what we should be paying and accrued the money, otherwise we would have had a massive bill to pay. We tried to switch to duel fuel with company B when the contract ended but company A refused to let us switch the gas until they had sorted their inaccurate termination bill out but they did let us switch the electricity. Months later they sorted it and finally said we could switch the gas, meantime we'd been stuck on their higher tariff for gas with company A and on the higher tariff for electricity with company B as they couldn't get the gas situation sorted for the duel fuel lower tariff deal we'd signed up for. Company B now told us the lower tariff deal we'd signed up to was no longer valid so we tried to switch again. We did to Company C, we switched online and confirmed a low tariff deal over the phone, then they sent a confirmation letter which said we were on their higher standard tariff. We've tried calling their call centre for the last three weeks, we get put on hold until the lines go dead and then we start again or we get diverted to another 'overflow centre' who can't sort the problem, they are just there to sign up people onto new deals. We still don't know what tariff we are going to be billed for, the lower one we agreed or the standard one. Our conclusion is the energy companies are a chaotic mess- too many people working in call centres chasing new customers and no one in the back room sorting out the mistakes when details are entered incorrectly into computers! We have kept a record of letters, phone calls, exchanges of emails with call centres, customer service teams, complaint centres, ombudsmen etc. etc. on a spread sheet - it runs to four pages - switching simple???? I'm sure by now you are thinking 'poor doddery old dears- it must be their fault' but as newly retired ex senior managers we think our admin skills are rather above average, heaven help those who don't keep accurate records.

The winter fuel allowance is an anachronism, since most customers pay a regular monthly amount throughout the year, rather than filling a coal bunker in winter.

It would also be fairer, and save energy, if each household had a basic allowance at a lower rate, based on the people in the household, and usage above this was charged at a higher rate.

Dear Baroness,

I'd like to know why the government doesn't ban companies from using regressive tariffs with standing charges, which mean that people who use least are paying proportionally more for their fuel than those who use most. These tariffs are subsidising the profligate users at the expense of the frugal.

I realise that suppliers want tariffs which reflect the economies of scale in running the business, but it seems to me that rewarding people for using more is the wrong priority. It's not environmentally friendly, and on the basis that the poor will tend to be the ones who use least fuel, it's exacerbating fuel poverty too. It has a similar effect on the poor to having no tax allowance, and a basic rate of income tax higher than the top rate.

My electricity tariff is £69 +13.74p/unit, so taking that as an example, an average user (3300kWh PA) would be paying £552, with £275 for low user on 1650kWh PA and £701 for a high user on 4600kWh PA. (Low/average/high categories as defined by OFGEM.)

Now imagine scrapping the standing charge and changing the unit charge to 15.83p: low, average and high users would now pay £261, £552, and £728 respectively. That amounts to a 5% discount for the environmentally friendly frugal user who may well be on a tight budget, and a 4% increase for the heavy user who contributes more to carbon emissions. The average user pays the same.

Better still, consider the following scenario: change the unit price to 19.0p and give consumers the first 400kWh PA free of charge. Now the same low average and high users will pay £238, £552, and £798. As before, the average user still pays the same, but compared with the original tariff with a standing charge, the frugal user now gets a 13% discount, and the high user pays 14% more.

The first suggestion is better that the status quo because it is neutral, so that every user pays proportionally the same for their fuel rather than penalising the frugal. However, the second example is better still because it is progressive, and proportionally increases the cost as you use more fuel, which not only creates the right incentives for the environment, but also goes some way to alleviating fuel poverty. The actual figures are just an example to illustrate the point of course, it's the principle of using progressive tariffs that I'm arguing for.

I think that this policy should be applied to gas and electricity, but even more to water, in which rateable value tariffs are the most regressive system of all.