Heating Oil Support

Bradley Thomas Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Martin McCluskey]

I can assure my hon. Friend that guidance will be provided to local authorities to ensure that LPG customers are also dealt with through the fund.

[Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

While I welcome the Minister’s statement, my constituents and I have a few questions. How many households does the Minister project that this will be applied to? What does he foresee the average amount of support being? Is there a qualifying criterion in terms of benefits or household income? Will the fund be disbursed via the upper tier or lower-tier council, and should my constituents apply to Bromsgrove district council or Wiltshire council for support?

[Martin McCluskey]

As the hon. Gentleman will know, the current household support fund and the future crisis resilience fund are discretionary and it will be for the local authorities to determine, under the guidelines, what they will be able to provide. On the support available and the number of households affected, we are confident that this can meet demand over this period of time. As I said in response to other hon. Members, the important thing is ensuring that this money reaches people as quickly as possible, and we did not wait around, as the previous Government did, to provide support to these households.