Govt urged to cut energy VAT - 05/03/2012
The government has been encouraged to make gas and electricity prices cheaper by eliminating VAT from these expenses.
Leader of Cumbria County Council Eddie Martin has written to chancellor George Osborne urging the move, which he stated will help reduce fuel poverty in his area.
In the letter, he said: "It is surely the most pragmatic and direct way to assist those in Cumbria and elsewhere who desperately need our help."
Recent figures have revealed 28 per cent of households in the county are classed as being in fuel poverty - a 130 per cent increase since 2005.
Mr Martin said while he recognised there is "limited room for manoeuvre" in the current financial climate, protecting vulnerable people should be a top priority.
His letter comes shortly after Liberal Democrat councillor for Cumbria Peter Thornton said in an article for the Huffington Post that a lack of energy efficient housing in the county is contributing to fuel poverty.
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