Rural areas 'let down' by lack of oil regulation

Charities and MPs representing rural communities said they had been "let down" by the lack of regulation of heating oil.

The government has announced help for "vulnerable" households who have been hit by sharp price increases since the outbreak of the Iran war.

Joe Morris, Labour MP for Hexham, in Northumberland, said he had been "shocked and angered" by the impact of the price spike and said "poor regulation" was to blame.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the government was committed to tackling cost of living pressures and was planning "new measures to protect customers against any unfair practices".

Approximately 30% of homes in Cumbria and Northumberland do not have mains gas and rely on heating fuels such as oil or LPG.

Morris said: "For too long, those rural communities that are off the gas grid have been let down by poor regulation of the sector something that the wars in Ukraine and in Iran have repeatedly and vividly exposed."

Christine Nicholls, from Community Action Northumberland, said the charity had been "banging on for years" that heating oil should be regulated.

She said she wanted the immediate reinstatement of the Alternative Fuel Payment, a £200 government grant payment to UK households that use alternative fuels which was withdrawn in April 2024.

"I think extra support needs to go to everyone on heating oil, it's really not clear how this money will get to the right people," she said.

Guy Renner-Thompson, Conservative councillor for the Bamburgh ward in Northumberland, said the county council had been given "no detail on who the money should go to".

"It's a paltry sum when you think about the number of households on heating oil," he said.

"It doesn't kick in until 1 April either, so that's not going to help people who need to fill their tanks up now," he said.

Chris Addison from the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) in Cumbria said the rise in heating oil was not the only problem affecting rural areas.

"Red diesel, which farmers rely on, has gone up from about 75p a few weeks ago to more than £1.25," he said.

Addison, who farms near Appleby, says fertiliser prices had also soared.

"I'm organic so I don't use much but it's gone from about £350 a tonne to more than £500 and that's if you can get hold of it," he said.

"We were getting a few green shoots of recovery in the countryside but this is pushing it all back."

The Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the funding will be distributed by local authorities  via the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF), which comes into effect on 1 April, targeted to areas with higher rates of oil heating.

Other measures include "stronger consumer protections in the heating oil market and exploring the appointment of a regulator, such as Ofgem, to champion consumers, and taking powers to do so through the Energy Independence Bill".

In reference to the increase in red diesel and fertiliser prices, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: "We will always make sure that we do everything we can to protect consumers."