Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:48 pm on 30 November 2022.
Carla Lockhart
DUP, Upper Bann
12:48,
30 November 2022
I sincerely thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting this urgent question, which I have asked on behalf of the people of Northern Ireland, for whom the cost of living crisis is biting as much as in other parts of our United Kingdom. Across GB, households have received their energy Bills support payment, but my constituents, and people across Northern Ireland, have not. That £400 has been dangled in front of them but remains beyond their grasp. The promise of an additional £200 in recognition of our dependence on heating oil also remains unpaid.
The previous Prime Minister, Elizabeth Truss, assured the people of Northern Ireland that the payment would be issued in November. Today, November draws to a close, but there has been no payment. Hard-pressed families budgeting for the additional pressures of Christmas factored the Government’s promise into their budgeting. What has the Minister to say to them?
As temperatures have plummeted over recent days, people in Northern Ireland are waking up to frost on their cars outside, but inside their homes, some people can even see their breath because they are unable to turn their heating on. They need this payment, yet what we get from the Government is delay, doubt and differing stories as to the type of scheme as each day passes. It is not good enough. We need a firm commitment from the Government that the payment will be issued before Christmas. We know it can be done. We saw through covid that where there is a will, the Government can overcome technicalities quickly to deliver support.
The UK Government have been centrally delivering the scheme for England, Scotland and Wales. They say that the budget is there to issue it for Northern Ireland, and the energy companies say that they are ready to administer it, so can the Minister clarify the exact form that the payment will take and when it will come? Furthermore, will changing the model by which the scheme is delivered, as indicated yesterday, create a further delay? I implore the Minister: let there be no more delay. He should make the payment and honour the commitments given to the people of Northern Ireland.
A proposal for new legislation that is debated by Parliament.
A proposal for new legislation that is debated by Parliament.
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