Fuel Poverty

fuelThe cost of fuel and oil affects the day-to-day lives of many residents in Penrith and The Border. Our rural isolation means that having a car is a necessity, not a luxury. Our isolated, traditional homes are far more difficult and expensive to heat, and generally depend on oil tanks. Fuel bills are now one of the most difficult of family expenses.

I pressed for Wigton to become one of the first ‘smart-grid market towns’ in the UK and I am keen for as many communities as possible to pilot green deal projects. I want to encourage cutting-edge technology, which allows us to understand our energy usage, helps us to cut our bills and enables companies to distribute more efficiently.

Rory backs warm front campaign

Rory is backing an awareness push from Consumer Focus, Citizens Advice, Age UK and the National Children’s Bureau to make free heating help from Warm Front available to the poorest households. Rory is urging people in Penrith and the Border who are worried about their energy bills to find out if they are eligible for […]

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Rory teams up with British Gas to ‘Share the Warmth’

Rory is calling on local charities to take advantage of the British Gas Share the Warmth Scheme and pocket £50 for their efforts. Charities in Penrith and the Border will be given £50 for every person on qualifying benefits they refer to British Gas for free insulation. As well as getting free insulation which will […]

rory calls for rural fuel discount

Rory yesterday in Parliament raised the concerns of many constituents about the impact that rising fuel prices are having on the cost of living and working in Penrith and the Border. In a speech in yesterday’s Backbench Committee debate in the House of Commons, Rory made a plea for the 5p rural fuel discount to be […]

warm homes project

Rory has applauded the work of the Cumbria Affordable Warmth Partnership, who today announced the launch of their Warm Homes Project. The project aims to promote warmer homes by ensuring that all Cumbrians can access a free survey of their property, enabling them to understand how best to insulate and heat through the provision of […]

winter warmth fund

Rory has joined forces with a host of well-known Cumbrians in support of the second year of Cumbria Community Foundation’s Winter Warmth Fund, which collects unwanted Winter Fuel Payments in order to help older people stay warm this winter. Rory said: “I am delighted to be supporting Cumbria Community Foundation’s Winter Warmth Appeal this year. […]

rural fuel discount

In a parliamentary debate in Westminster Hall today, Rory pressed Ministers to extend the rural fuel discount (currently limited to the Scottish Islands) to include Cumbria. Speaking in a debate on the increasing fuel costs, Rory spoke for thousands of constituents when he argued the case for measures to be taken to halt the increase […]

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solar power at bolton village hall

Rory enjoyed a visit to Bolton Village Hall on Thursday, where he met and chatted with the village hall committee and saw the hall’s newly-installed photovoltaic cells. The hall’s move to renewable energy by fitting solar panels – from local Appleby firm Love Solar – was made possible by the village’s inclusion in the government’s […]