Darling defends fuel help move

30 May 2008 09:14am

Moves to help the vulnerable and elderly cope with soaring fuel bills have been defended by Chancellor Alistair Darling.

New measures to be announced by the Government, including helping households to improve their energy efficiency, had been criticised by campaigners as too little and a reshuffling of old ideas.

But Mr Darling told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "I disagree with them.

"It's not the only thing we are doing, of course.

"What we have done is that we've reached an agreement with the power companies to increase the amount of money they spend in helping people get on to lower tariffs, helping people insulate their homes."

He went on: "There's an obligation now on all energy companies to help their customers cut their fuel bills by insulation and other measures as well."

Mr Darling, who is in Edinburgh to address a financial services conference, insisted: "We are taking a range of measures to help people, recognising that the amount of money they spend on their gas and electricity bills is an increasing proportion of their income."

But he gave no indication on whether he would bow to demands for tax cuts,

Mr Darling insisted that the real problem was high world oil prices, and repeated his pledge to reconsider the 2p fuel duty rise due to come into effect in October.

"I postponed the increase in April, I will come back to the issue before October - that is what I propose to do in relation to the fuel duty," he said.

© The Press Association