REDDITCH MP Chris Bloore has called for urgent reform of the heating oil market, warning that families in rural communities are being hit by ‘outright price gouging’ with little protection.
Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate on the cost of heating oil, Mr Bloore highlighted the pressures facing households in villages such as Inkberrow and Cookhill, where many homes are not connected to the mains gas grid and have no choice but to rely on off-grid heating.
He said: “Across our rural communities and in villages such as Inkberrow and Cookhill, many households are not connected to the mains gas grid and have no choice but to rely on heating oil.
“In recent weeks, my office has been inundated with emails from constituents facing what can only be described as outright price gouging. Sharp, sudden increases in heating oil costs, often with little warning and no meaningful protection.
The figures are not abstract; families are being asked to find hundreds of pounds up front just to heat their homes. That is the fundamental unfairness at the heart of the issue. Where someone lives should not determine whether they are protected.”
Mr Bloore welcomed the Government’s decision to provide additional support through the Crisis and Resilience Fund, enabling local councils to assist households facing immediate hardship.
He said: “That will make a real difference in the short term and I thank Ministers for listening. For some families, that support will mean the difference between staying warm and going without heat.
“But emergency support, however welcome, is not a substitute for structural reform. We need a properly regulated off-grid energy market, greater transparency from suppliers (including real-time price publication) and serious consideration of a price cap on domestic heating oil and LPG.”
The MP also pointed to long-standing concerns raised by the Competition and Markets Authority about weak competition and poor transparency in the heating oil market, warning that the situation has worsened for rural households and businesses.
He added: “A price cap would ensure households are not left exposed to sudden and excessive increases that they simply cannot plan for. These concerns have not gone away, they have intensified. It’s time for comprehensive action.”
