A few words from … Dame Harriett Baldwin MP

Regulator update on heating oil pricing review!

Dame Harriett Baldwin MP has met with the competition regulator and asked for an update on its review into local oil supplies and liquid petroleum gas. The Competition and Markets Authority pledged to carry out a review after the MP shared local people’s concerns about profiteering as fuel prices rocketed during the conflict across the Middle East.

Dame Harriett met with the CMA and heard about their work investigating heating oil suppliers and acting on any evidence of price gouging. The regulator has also completed an investigation into petrol and diesel stations and confirms there is a rural penalty. Heating oil and gas prices remain high and fuel at the petrol pumps remains inflated causing a huge impact on the cost of living for local people.

The Government pledged a £50 million package to help people who have been hit with higher-than-expected heating costs but the assistance was focussed on people already receiving some form of benefit support.

Dame Harriett said: “I wrote to the Competition and Markets Authority sharing local evidence of significant shifts in supplier behaviour and I took the opportunity to repeat my concerns at a recent meeting. The crisis in the Middle East continues to have an impact on the price of oil and gas and although some wholesale costs are coming down they seem to be slow to be passed on to customers. I saw clear evidence of bad behaviour in my postbag and I am hoping that the CMA will act swiftly to investigate the supply of oil and gas to rural areas which rely on tanks rather than a mains connection.”