Part of Energy and Climate Change – in the House of Commons at 9:30 am on 31 January 2013.
Gregory Barker
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change
9:30,
31 January 2013
I remind the right hon. Lady that, while she was in government as a Minister, Fuel Poverty rose from 2 million to 5.5 million. This Government are committed to doing something about it. Rather than crying crocodile tears, perhaps she should recognise that that £500 million-plus is the absolute minimum we are spending on the fuel poor. We expect to spend a lot more.
A household is said to be in fuel poverty when its members cannot afford to keep adequately warm at reasonable cost, given their income.
A household is said to be in fuel poverty when its members cannot afford to keep adequately warm at reasonable cost, given their income.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
