Question
I note that the Minister has failed to quash the rumours about Acorn, so let me try another imminent Labour party betrayal of Scotland’s energy. At a time when bills are set to be £1,000 higher than the Labour party promised, the Chancellor is inexplicably going to increase the unit price of gas. We know that families in Scotland will be disproportionately hit by the Labour party gas price increase. The Minister says that she and her colleague the Secretary of State are Scotland’s people in the Cabinet. What is she going to do to protect people from the Chancellor’s gas price rise?
Answer
Once again, a typical display from the hon. Gentleman—firing up the accusations of betrayal before he has even heard the Budget. I understand that he called for standing charges to be removed from gas bills some time ago, so I look forward to hearing him welcome some of the measures in the forthcoming Budget.100% point-scoring
Verdict: RED (15/100)
The exchange contained one question, asking what the Government is doing to protect people from the rise in gas prices. The reply did not answer this directly: it referred only vaguely to unnamed 'measures in the forthcoming Budget' and pointed to an opposition proposal to remove standing charges, which is not a government action. The answer is mostly hedged and leaves the core question unresolved, so the person who asked would likely need to ask again for specifics.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is the Government doing to protect people from the planned increase in the unit price of gas announced by the Chancellor? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply never describes what the Government is doing to protect people from the gas price rise. It only points vaguely to unnamed 'measures in the forthcoming Budget' and to the opposition's past call to remove standing charges, which is not a government action, so the item is touched on but not substantively answered. |