STUNELL STRIVES TO SAVE CARBON, MONEY AND JOBS

5.20.00pm GMT Mon 16th Feb 2009

Plans by the Liberal Democrats to massively increase the energy efficiency of all homes will lead to big savings in energy bills, according to local MP Andrew Stunell.

Andrew launched the proposals alongside Simon Hughes, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, last week in Westminster.

These proposals come as figures show that 22.1% of people in the North West are in fuel poverty, including the bulk of the 15,260 pensioners in Stockport claiming pension credit. There were over 150 unnecessary deaths in Stockport in winter 2007, many of them pensioners living in fuel poverty.

The Liberal Democrats' plans include requiring energy companies to use some of the £9 billion profit they have made from emissions trading to insulate the homes of the poorest residents, as well as setting up a National Green Loans scheme which will pay for a complete overhaul of the energy efficiency of people's homes.

Commenting on the proposals, Andrew said:

"In the past year, fuel bills have gone through the roof. But too often, our heat is escaping through the roof as well. Our plans will put an end to that.

"They will also provide a boost for jobs in the building industry, which has been particularly hard hit by the recession, getting more people back into work, and securing existing jobs."

"My Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act, passed in 2004, gave the government the ability to require greater energy efficiency standards of buildings as a matter of course, yet Britain's carbon emissions have remained static, as the government has sat on its hands.

"Meanwhile, countless families are spending huge amounts on wasted energy, leaving many in fuel poverty."

ENDS