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Mr. Burns: Logically, the answer is yes, but I cannot suggest to the House today how such sticks might best be devised. The grants that are available can be taken up by good landlords and bad, and ultimately that saves the taxpayer money.
Mr. Kidney: I know that the hon. Gentleman is anxious to finish, so I shall not detain him. However, I am anxious not to sink the Bill, as it is a good measure that I want to succeed. With regard to the sticks that might be employed against bad landlords, does the hon. Gentleman agree that legislation on public health and environmental protection could also be used? Other possibilities include the promised new register of houses in multiple occupation and, more controversially, the use of housing benefit--a potentially excellent tool to persuade private landlords to make improvements.
Mr. Burns: That is a valid point. I do not want the Bill to be sunk, either, any more than I want to slow down its progress by tampering with clause 4(b). However, I worry that unscrupulous people will drive a coach and horses through the Bill's good intentions by not enhancing
housing quality. On the other hand, some people genuinely will not be able to undertake those improvements because they lack the money.
The hon. Member for Stafford (Mr. Kidney) seems to be suggesting that loopholes in the Bill could be blocked by using provisions available in other legislation. That would be marvellous. I am sure that the Minister wants to improve energy efficiency, and that he would approve of any legal method that would achieve that.
My final concern centres around the regulation powers in clause 3. That clause is the engine of the Bill, and it implements the proposals in clause 2. However, I am worried that the annulment or negative resolution procedures of clause 3 would cause this House to abdicate its power to monitor the Executive and hold it to account. That worry would apply regardless of the political complexion of the Government involved.
We all know how the negative procedure works. Statutory instruments cannot be amended; they are dealt with Upstairs in Committee, if they are dealt with at all. I fear that any future Government, regardless of political composition, could use the regulations to dilute the Bill's intentions. Therefore, I urge the Minister to consider reversing the onus in the clause to the affirmative resolution so that the House of Commons could hold the Executive of the day to greater account. It would also ensure that the will of the majority of hon. Members who support the Bill was reflected in the regulations rather than diluted by them.
Gillian Merron (Lincoln):
I welcome the support of the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess), who, in promoting the Bill, recognises the importance of Government action to tackle the human misery and waste caused by fuel poverty. That is in stark and marked contrast to the characteristically controversial and dismissive comments of Edwina Currie, who was previously one of the hon. Gentleman's hon. Friends. Her advice to elderly people who were struggling to keep warm was to knit themselves some woolly hats and gloves. The hon. Gentleman shows that we have come some way since that advice was given.
The Bill complements the activity and determination of the Government, who have already taken action to tackle fuel poverty. Cold homes are a major health hazard. They are wasteful in terms of energy and money, as people throw money down the drain--money they can often ill afford--in a vain attempt to heat the unheatable. It is only by tackling the basic problem and ensuring that homes are properly insulated, with the right heating system installed properly and working efficiently, that the most vulnerable people will be lifted out of fuel poverty.
During warm homes week last year, I visited one of my constituents, Helen Townsend, who lives in a lovely terraced house in the west end. I saw and felt for myself
how Helen's home had been made warmer and cheaper to heat since she had had a loft insulation grant from the Government's home energy efficiency scheme. When people think about their eligibility for insulation grants, most rule themselves out if they are not pensioners. However, fuel poverty affects all those, including elderly people, who are vulnerable. Helen Townsend is a young woman who suffers from a condition that has left her unable to work and having to claim benefit. In common with others in a similar position, she spends a lot of time at home and, for reasons of health and comfort, needs it to be consistently warm. She should not have the additional worry of paying for it. I was pleased to hear from Helen how easy it had been to get a Government grant. That is another essential factor in making a warm home an achievable reality, rather than something on a wish list. The Bill needs to take that into account.
Last year in the east midlands, there were an estimated 4,200 excess winter deaths, some 88 of which were estimated to be in my constituency of Lincoln. As a result of the measures in the Bill and the Government's current programme, not only will distress be reduced, but lives will be saved. I was staggered to discover that, while the United Kingdom death rate rises in the winter by some 30 per cent., in countries such as Norway and Sweden, where the average temperatures are obviously lower, the rise in the winter death rate is closer to 10 per cent. That information concentrates the mind.
Our fundamental problem is how to tackle the root cause. How do we effectively support those who struggle to pay their fuel bills and cannot raise the capital to make their homes easier and cheaper to heat? We know that heat rises, but it also evaporates. Many people who can least afford it are paying to heat the air outside. That is a complete waste and, for some, a dangerous and sometimes fatal waste.
It always strikes me as ironic that constituents in the most difficult financial circumstances pay the most to heat their homes inefficiently. Pensioners and families on low incomes, and those with disabilities or chronic illness, simply do not have the resources to take the financially sound measures that would result in an affordably warm home. They cannot, in the short term, afford the investment that would bring them the benefits of warmth in the short, medium and long term.
As well as being good for the people who live in them, affordable warm homes release money to spend on other things. Pressure is taken off the health service and the quality of housing stock is maintained--for example, the need for damp and rot-related repairs is reduced. Furthermore, an extended programme of insulating homes and installing new heating systems creates jobs.
I am pleased that the Government understand that the issue of fuel poverty and its effects crosses the desks of many Ministers, including those with responsibility for health, environmental, social security and Treasury matters. The Government have brought those Departments together, with others, to look at their overall strategy on fuel poverty.
I am also pleased that, from April, the Government will for the first time be able to provide grants for central heating systems for older people on low incomes. That is another sensible, practical measure, the like of which is supported in the Bill.
The role of local authorities in ensuring affordable warm homes is crucial. Lincoln city council has joined six other councils and the Energy Saving Trust Ltd. to launch the home energy Lincolnshire partnership. It provides households with a free home energy report, a certificate and access to discounts on energy-saving products. In local authorities up and down the country, officers such as Terry Bentley, the energy efficiency officer at Lincoln city council, work tirelessly to promote understanding of the importance and use of energy-saving measures. We need that kind of approach and those kinds of people to work with the Government to help with the fight against fuel poverty.
Mr. Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington):
First, I congratulate the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) on his courage in choosing a Bill whose scope could have an impact both nationally and internationally. I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak on the Bill, and to restate Liberal Democrat support for it.
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