Maynard discussed how the cost of heating oil has do [2D [K doubled in just one week, impacting elderly and vulnerable individuals. He [K cited examples from his constituents facing severe financial hardship due t [1D [K to these price increases. He called for a three-month zero-rating of VAT on [2D [K on heating oil and developing a price cap to shield households from sudden [K increases.

Bloore highlighted the issue of price gauging in rur [3D [K rural communities and called for a properly regulated off-grid energy marke [5D [K market, greater transparency from suppliers, and consideration of a price c [1D [K cap on domestic heating oil to protect households from sudden and excessive [9D [K excessive increases.

In West Dorset, 15% of households depend on heating [K oil with some villages seeing up to half of homes relying on it. Constituen [10D [K Constituents are facing severe price hikes, with one quoted £1.40 per litre [5D [K litre and another having their order cancelled at a higher price due to mar [3D [K market instability and lack of transparency.

In Moray, over 22,500 households are not connected t [1D [K to the gas grid and rely on oil and LPG tank gas for heating. A constituent [11D [K constituent in Newtonmore saw their heating cost increase from £640 to £1,2 [4D [K £1,220 due to a minimum order of 1,000 litres. The Member calls for increas [7D [K increased support funding, proper regulation with price caps, and the devol [5D [K devolution of energy powers to Scotland.

Mr. Smith discussed the financial impact of heating [K oil price increases, noting that prices doubled or tripled following confli [6D [K conflicts in the Middle East and Russia. He mentioned specific figures from [4D [K from Money Saving Expert indicating customers paying between £600 to £1,000 [6D [K £1,000 for 500 litres after initial payments of around £300-£350. Smith hig [3D [K highlighted inadequate financial support allocated by the Government (£53 m [1D [K million) which is insufficient given the scale of the crisis and questioned [10D [K questioned its reach across all parts of the UK. The Minister seems to have pivoted towards electrici [9D [K electricity and away from heating oil, which this debate is about. On the w [1D [K wind auctions, I am not sure consumers will thank him for the price that ha [2D [K has just been paid. However, we are talking predominantly about the many ru [2D [K rural homes that are off the gas grid. Many are built out of stone—I declar [6D [K declare an interest, as mine is built out of witchert, which is a form of c [1D [K cob—and heat pumps do not touch the sides. Will he at least acknowledge tha [3D [K that for those rural homes, we need to look at things such as alternative f [1D [K fuels? Boilers can be converted to run on hydrotreated vegetable oil and, i [1D [K in the future, synthetic fuels. We must not just keep talking about electri [7D [K electricity.

More than 20,000 households in North West Norfolk ar [2D [K are off the gas grid and facing urgent need for support. The local council' [8D [K council's crisis fund, doubled to £6 million by the Conservative-led admini [6D [K administration, offers discretion to help those earning around £35,000 as w [1D [K well. There is concern about market reform with greater pricing transparenc [11D [K transparency and priority support for vulnerable people.

In Strangford, almost every household uses oil for h [1D [K heating. The current energy price cap does not apply in most parts of North [5D [K Northern Ireland where 68% of my constituents do not have access to a gas b [1D [K boiler and must watch the price of kerosene closely. Mr. Shannon inquired about the disbursement of alloc [5D [K allocated funds (£35 per household) and sought specific support for pension [7D [K pensioners facing difficulties due to increased heating oil costs.

Minns agreed that extending regulation would introdu [7D [K introduce priority service registers, enabling companies to identify vulner [6D [K vulnerable customers more easily.

I discussed the significant financial burden faced b [1D [K by constituents relying on heating oil, noting that one family anticipates [K an additional £1500 this year due to a price increase from £200-250 per fil [3D [K fill-up to nearly £750. The Government's announced support of around £30-35 [6D [K £30-35 per household is insufficient for many who are already struggling wi [2D [K with unexpected bills and have to turn off their heating. Mr. Mullan noted that while the Minister wanted a si [2D [K simple scheme, there was no reason not to allocate more funds rapidly.

Nearly 1,000 people in Sherwood Forest rely solely o [1D [K on heating oil for home heating and hot water. The sharp increase in prices [6D [K prices is severely impacting rural communities like Wellow, where access to [2D [K to alternative forms of heating is often unavailable. Constituents have bee [3D [K been forced to turn off their heating due to the financial crisis.

I highlighted the impact of rising heating oil costs [5D [K costs on rural communities, noting that about 40% of properties in my const [5D [K constituency are off-grid. This sharp increase in prices affects those leas [4D [K least able to absorb extra costs, particularly residents in council homes a [1D [K and low-income areas. The Government's £53 million emergency support fund a [1D [K and warm homes plan provide some assistance but do not address the immediat [8D [K immediate pressure on family budgets.

Rural areas face higher living costs, more fuel pove [4D [K poverty, and poorer energy efficiency compared to urban homes. Heating oil [K is not covered by Ofgem's price cap or the energy price guarantee, leaving [K rural households exposed to volatile global fossil fuel markets with prices [6D [K prices jumping from 44p per litre in January to 100p this week. Does the Minister have a timescale for when he expec [5D [K expects the review of the market and any recommendations to come back from [K the CMA? When will the Government enact them? Will they be part of the ener [4D [K energy independence Bill, or is there another way in which they could come [K into effect quite quickly? We welcome the publication of the warm homes pla [3D [K plan, but we have not received details of what will replace the energy comp [4D [K company obligation 4 programme, which was run through local authorities. Ca [2D [K Can the Minister tell us when he expects that detail to be available? Will [K it be published ahead of the winter so that it can be applied and homes can [3D [K can be upgraded?

About 20% of households in South Cotswolds rely on h [1D [K heating oil, which is four times the national average. A young mother with [K two small children faced a sudden price increase from £305 to £800 for her [K tank fill-up. Rural households already pay a premium on everyday goods and [K face a fuel poverty gap of nearly £1,000 compared to urban households.

In North Somerset, 2,281 homes rely on heating oil a [1D [K and are off the gas grid. The ongoing conflict is driving unpredictable pri [3D [K price hikes, leaving families with no alternatives to switch suppliers inst [4D [K instantly. The Government's measures include an extended energy bill cap sa [2D [K saving £170 per household and a £53 million support package targeted at low [3D [K low-income households.

The cost of heating oil is a result of global market [6D [K market volatility, leaving rural communities vulnerable to sharp price incr [4D [K increases. In Glastonbury and Somerton, one-third of homes rely on heating [K oil with prices reaching up to 160p per litre during the Ukraine invasion a [1D [K and currently around 120p. Despite this impact, no action has been taken to [2D [K to protect rural communities from future spikes or create a price cap like [K those for grid-connected homes.

The crisis demonstrates that emergency payments alon [4D [K alone cannot resolve geopolitical shocks affecting heating oil prices. The [K Member advocates for steps such as rolling out renewables and heat pump tec [3D [K technology in rural areas to mitigate future price volatility.

The escalation of conflict due to Donald Trump's war [3D [K war on Iran has caused significant increases in heating oil prices, impacti [7D [K impacting many households across the UK, particularly those relying on off- [4D [K off-grid systems. The average price of UK heating oil increased by 100% wit [3D [K within three days and remains over 120p per litre. With around a quarter of [2D [K of households in his constituency using oil central heating compared to 5% [K nationally, Witherden highlighted that these homes are not protected by Ofg [3D [K Ofgem regulation or the energy price cap.

South Shropshire, with 53% of its constituents off g [1D [K grid, has faced a significant increase in heating oil prices due to the war [3D [K war in Iran. Constituents are struggling with price hikes from £0.53 per li [2D [K litre to £1.39 per litre overnight. Despite the Government's energy support [7D [K support programme, South Shropshire is underfunded at £14.29 per house comp [4D [K compared to an average of £35 nationally.

In the Western Isles, heating oil prices have double [6D [K doubled since conflict broke out. Constituents are facing limited competiti [9D [K competition and island premium on deliveries. Although welcoming the emerge [6D [K emergency fund of £4.6 million for Scotland, concerns arise over distributi [10D [K distribution through Advice Direct Scotland leading to application glitches [8D [K glitches. Businesses in the constituency, including distilleri [10D [K distilleries, rely on kerosene heating oil for manufacturing processes and [K have been affected by the increase in prices. The Member urges the UK Gover [5D [K Government and Scottish Government to devise a loan scheme to assist these [K businesses. Mr. Crichton requested that the UK Government provid [6D [K provide information on applicant numbers similar to what Advice Direct Scot [4D [K Scotland can share with constituency MPs, indicating 16,000 expected applic [6D [K applicants and 5,000 applications already processed.