TheOnzoNews

Train Giveaway on Fuel Poverty

The press has been making gleeful play with the fact that Sir Brian Bender, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, was recently overheard on a train discussing the possibility of a one-off grant of £150 to those receiving child benefit, to help them with their fuel bills. Other stories speculate that £100 vouchers might be given to those entitled to family tax credits. The government has denied it has any such plans, saying its "response to turmoil in the global fuel, food and financial markets is still being developed".

Some might consider such paymentsto be a knee-jerk and unfocussed reaction. How much better to invest in devices that give individuals the information to manage their own energy usage?That they should be being considered suggests government thinking on fuel poverty fails to go beyond handouts, and supports the recent conclusion of the all-party House of Commons Business Select Committee that there should be a “fundamental re-think” about how to tackle the problem.