Richard Foord: Government’s off-grid support misses the mark

By Nub News columnist Richard Foord

After months of waiting, last week brought some welcome relief for the thousands of people across Devon who live in homes not connected to the gas grid.

Since September last year, the Conservative Government had repeatedly promised, but failed to deliver, help for those living off-grid with their energy bills. There were numerous delays, and whole months passed where we heard nothing at all about when this 'Alternative Fuel Payment' would be forthcoming.

I raised this issue in my first Prime Minister's Question during a cold snap a fortnight ago, when I challenged Rishi Sunak to end this delay and get the money to those people who needed it.

I am glad to say that we're now seeing this beginning to happen. While the £200 payment is nowhere near enough to mitigate the huge spike in costs, in a situation like this, it is a case of 'better late than never'.

However, there is one glaring flaw with this payment. Rather than being given to people directly so they can buy their fuel to keep warm - whether that be heating oil, LPG, or solid fuels - it is being credited to people's electricity accounts.

Those people who live off-grid, myself included, have had to pay huge sums upfront to purchase the fuel we needed to heat our homes over the winter months, so crediting this money to people's electricity account when spring is just round the corner offers little immediate relief.

Indeed, many people have contacted me in the past few days to highlight that their actual energy usage is low, and they won't see any real net gain from this credit for months. It also fails to offer help to those who have slipped into arears due to the sharp spike in energy costs.

What's more, those homes that do not have a direct energy supplier are still left waiting for help, as the new online portal to apply for support is still not ready. This was meant to be rolled out weeks ago but so far, they've failed to get it working properly.

The Government has spent almost six months developing and supposedly refining this scheme, so how have we ended up with a half-finished product that has such a glaring hole in how it works?

One reason is that the Conservatives have lost touch with the needs of rural communities like ours and they continue to take us for granted. If they had listened to concerns raised by me and other rural Liberal Democrat MPs, this debacle could have been avoided.

Yet this Government would rather focus on their next soundbite and their next headline than actually seeking to work constructively with MPs to ensure the actions they take will genuinely make the lives of people in places like ours better.

I am fed up with towns and villages across the West Country being hurt because Conservative party bosses in London just don't get it. I hope that at the upcoming Council elections we can send a clear message by electing local, hard-working Liberal Democrats to be the community champions we need.

As your MP, I will continue to bang the drum for our communities in Parliament, keep raising the issues that matter locally, and demand action from the Government.

If you ever need my help or want to discuss an issue with me – please do email me at [email protected] or call my office on 020 7219 8349 and leaving a message.