Gregory Campbell MP said,
"The government gave a commitment of £400 for every household and they should get on with delivering it.
They DUP has published a policy document on “Helping Working Families” and also sent a series of proposals to the Chancellor back in March and again on 1 July. Most of the major levers to help families with costs at the pumps or at on their energy bills lie at Westminster.
We had also proposed locally on 11 March this year, that the Finance Minister should give people a discount in their rates bills. This would have been quick to implement. The best way to put money in people’s pockets is not to take it out of their pocket in the first place.
Green taxes make up to 8% of our bills. People could be given a payment holiday on this tax. The Chief Executive of British Gas proposed stripping environmental and social levies out of energy bills and to “fund ‘green’ programmes through general taxation instead”. Mr O’Shea argued the move would reduce annual bills by £170 and spread the cost more fairly.
The announcement to scrap VAT on energy efficiency measures could NOT be applied to Northern Ireland because the Protocol ties us to the EU VAT regime. Those who have been cheerleaders for the Protocol and who have demanded its rigorous implementation need to step forward and explain why they continue to support something which is restricting efforts to help hard-pressed families cope with rising costs."
