Monthly Report for October 2007
Below is a summary of my work in Parliament and in Southampton for the month of October 2007 Click here to read previous reports.
If you'd like to know more about any of the work I've been doing, or if you think there is another issue you think I should be acting on, you can always contact my office.
Work in Parliament
Adjournment debate on energy charges
Since last year I have repeatedly raised in Parliament the practice of energy companies charging more for the same amount of energy if customers have pre-pay meters installed in their home. On the first day of the new Parliamentary session I managed to secure an adjournment debate on this issue.
In the debate I argued we had reached a point where the government needed to take direct action to force energy companies to equalise their charges, because:
- Pre-pay meter customers are more likely to be living in fuel poverty than customers who pay by direct debit (10% vs. 3.5%)
- The differential between pre-pay and direct debit charges is growing at an alarming rate (pre-pay customers paid on average £70 more in 2005-6; today they pay on average £150 more)
- Pre-pay meter payments represent a guaranteed income stream, yet the value of this security of income is effectively distributed amongst all of an energy company’s customer base instead of being used to offset the additional costs of setting up and maintaining pre-pay meters.
At the moment the government’s approach to this issue is not to ‘force the hand’ of energy companies, but rather to look at ways to lift the greatest number out of fuel poverty irrespective of how they pay their bills. This does appear to me to effectively allow for government subsidy of unfair pricing practices. I will continue to argue for an approach that factors in corporate responsibility in addition to the government’s otherwise very laudable strategy on fuel poverty. I am also encouraged that the government did agree to discuss this issue with energy companies as ‘smart meters’ (which feed back real-time data on your energy use) are rolled out.
For reference I enclose a table of the average price differentials from most of the major energy suppliers:
Supplier |
Average Standard Credit |
Average PPM |
Average difference |
Npower |
£911 |
£1,021 |
+£110 |
Powergen |
£916 |
£1,001 |
+£85 |
British Gas |
£914 |
£994 |
+£80 |
SSE |
£872 |
£935 |
+£63 |
EDF |
£908 |
£934 |
+£26 |
Scottish Power |
£961 |
£931 |
- £30 |
Based on an average annual gas consumption level of 20,500kWh per annum, and an average annual electricity consumption level of 3,300kWh per annum.
PMQ on incapacity benefit
Last week at Prime Minister’s Questions I asked:
“Does the Prime Minister think that people who want to return to work but have become trapped in the incapacity benefit system should be supported and encouraged to seek and obtain work, or forced to do so by the removal of their benefit?”
Gordon Brown replied:
“Under our proposals, 1 million people will come off incapacity benefit by 2015.
Under an alternative proposal, it is said that that figure could be 1.6 million: two thirds of those currently on incapacity benefit would come off it and lose £5,000 per person.
It is said that that proposal, put forward by the Opposition, would raise £3 billion. Given the number of constituents we know who are disabled and who are in wheelchairs, and the many who are mentally as well as physically handicapped, the idea that 1.6 million of 2.7 million people could come off incapacity benefit by the beginning of the next Parliament is faintly ridiculous. Given that we already expect 1 million to come off incapacity benefit, those who say that they can raise £3 billion from that proposal are, again, completely wrong.”
Read details of how the Conservative proposals would affect Southampton
Private Members Bills
In addition to my PMB on HMOs, I also submitted a PMB on Microgeneration and Local Energy. The aim of the Bill is to highlight practical ways in which microgeneration could be better supported, such as, for example, (i) requiring new energy meters to have the capacity to measure not just how much energy is consumed in a household, but also how much energy is generated, (ii) requiring mortgage companies to offer loans to support the installation of microgeneration devices, and (iii) specifying that increases in a property’s value due to the installation of a microgeneration device will not in itself make the property liable for a higher threshold of council tax.
Labour Conference
Conference was as usual a very busy week which presented good opportunities to hear from a much wider range of members and lobbies than is normally possible. I spent much of my week in the Conference ‘Climate Clinic’ speaking at fringe events relating to environmental policy. In my role as the chair of the Labour Party manifesto group on Local Government, I attended a closed-session policy seminar on Sustainable Communities for delegates and Ministers. I also spoke at fringes on electoral reform, speaking specifically on ways we can make ‘consultation’ between councils and local communities more genuine.
Other meetings
Also this month I attended an Inter-Parliamentary meeting between the UK Parliament and the Bundestag on renewable energy, as well as a meeting with the EU Committee of the Regions on ways to promote sustainable energy.
Work In Southampton
Post Office closures
The Post Office Network has now published its list of proposed closures in Southampton, which include 4 branches in Southampton Test. I recognise that the Post Office and the government are both in a very difficult position regarding the future of the service, as many smaller branches are, even with a £1.7 billion government subsidy, still not commercially viable, and that if some changes are not made the entire future of our postal network could be under serious threat. Therefore I am not going to take the easy way out of unilaterally opposing all the proposed changes. However I do believe there are two significant problems with the proposed plan for Southampton:
The future of the Aldermoor Post Office in Coxford has not been clarified. I had previously been given assurances by the Post Office Network that if a new proprietor could be found to take over the franchise (the previous hosting Co-op having shut down due to anti-social behaviour) then the Post Office could be re-opened. Working with Don Thomas we had identified a local businessman who was eager to take over the franchise, but we were then told the future of the Aldermoor Branch would be considered as part of the wider consultation process on the future of the network. This does not appear to have happened. I will therefore be pressing the network on why they have apparently failed to consider the future of the Aldermoor branch at all, despite local willingness to get the branch back open, and whether this is actually a way of by-passing the statutory consultation process for when a branch is closed.
There also appears to be a rural bias in terms of how access to alternative post office branches is assessed. The Post Office Network consultation document defines the type of obstacles that are taken into account as follows:
“Post Office Ltd has also taken into account obstacles such as rivers, mountains and valleys, motorways and sea crossings to islands in order to avoid undue hardship to customers.”
It is not clear from this definition whether the Branch Access Reports take into account ‘urban obstacles’ such as dual carriageways, underpasses or parks which may also make it more difficult for customers to access the alternative post office branches. Considering that the description of terrain type for the Southampton Test branches marked for closure appears to only make reference to how ‘level’ the terrain is, it appears urban obstacles have not been considered. This is clearly unacceptable and could have a significant impact on how ‘accessible’ alternative branches are viewed as.
For reference, the proposed branches for closure in Southampton Test are:
- Clovelly Road branch, 110 Saint Marys Road Southampton SO14 0AN
- Highfield branch, 29 Highfield Lane Southampton SO17 1QD
- Lodge Road branch, 48 Lodge Road Southampton SO14 6RJ
- Portswood Road 498 Portswood Road Southampton SO17 3SP
Meals on wheels
This month marks the 60th anniversary of the Meals on Wheels service. To mark the anniversary I met with cooks at the Southampton MoW branch in Bevois, before travelling with Meals on Wheels staff to meet some of their customers.
Carers consultation event
Next spring the government will launch a new comprehensive strategy for carers. I have been encouraging carers in my constituency to feed back their views to the official consultation process on this new strategy, and had intended to personally chair a discussion group with local carers about this issue. Unfortunately rescheduled Parliamentary business meant I was unable to get to the consultation event, so I am very grateful to my diary secretary Hannah Coombs for standing in and running the session at the last minute. The results of that session have now been submitted and the consultation period has now closed.
Letters on the Civil Service Sports Ground
Approximately 1500 people living near the former Civil Service sports ground have received an update on the future of the ground and a survey asking them what they think about the proposals to buy the sports ground for use as playing fields for a combined St Marks – Regents Park campus. The response to the survey has been excellent- approximately 20% of households in and around the sports ground has now contacted my office at some point about the campaign.
Read about the sports ground campaign
Noise at the docks
300 households in around Saxon Road in Freemantle have received letters regarding the agreement I secured from ABP on reducing noise coming from the container port during the night. I would be interested in feedback from residents who live in other parts of Freemantle and Millbrook on whether noise from the docks carries to where you live, as so far I have only written to areas very close to the disturbance.
Read about ABP’s agreement to reduce noise at the docks