Published at 13:47, Thursday, 27 October 2011

AS the nights draw in and people start turning up their heating, they need to know that the government is on their side in tackling soaring energy prices.

So instead of turning the clocks back to fight among themselves on Europe, Conservative ministers need to get a grip on the problems people are facing as they struggle to make ends meet while heating their homes.

The cost of electricity and gas has climbed substantially, with the typical fuel bill increasing by 50 per cent in the past four years.

Most people understand that energy prices will always be affected by fluctuating wholesale prices and the need to move to tackle the dangers of climate change by moving to lower carbon forms of energy.

But so many are frustrated by the way the Conservative-led government refuses to take meaningful action to make things a bit easier.

At the petrol pump, the Tories and Lib Dems have set their face against Labour’s proposal – part of our five point plan for jobs and growth – to reverse the damaging VAT rise that is putting several pence on the price of a litre of fuel.

And on domestic heating, government ministers have cut winter fuel payments for older people and been ineffective in tackling the problems that are keeping prices higher than they should be in the energy market.

They should be following the lead of Labour leader Ed Miliband, who has said that the confusing energy market should be made more open to encourage lower prices, with new companies able to access energy supplies on the same terms as the big six who dominate the market.

That is the sort of meaningful change that could help ease the burden of rising prices.

I was very concerned to learn that people across the Furness and Morecambe Bay area may have missed repeat hospital appointments because of failures in IT systems.

On top of the intensive work going on to bring the maternity unit up to standard, hospital managers have assured me they are working round the clock to go through their records and notify people who may be missing out on important treatment or check-ups.

This is a serious failing and there must be a proper investigation into how it occurred and how many people have lost out.

Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk