Cheap energy could be more prevalent if overseas allowances are cut - 20/04/2009
Homeowners in the UK could enjoy greater relief on prices from energy suppliers if payments to overseas residents are cut, reports the Sun.
Over 55,000 UK nationals living overseas have received winter fuel payments totalling nearly £14 million this year, despite the majority of recipients spending the winter months in warmer countries.
The Conservatives have called for the payments to be halted, in order to free up an additional £2 million to help relieve fuel poverty among pensioners living within UK borders.
Greg Clark, shadow energy secretary, told the paper: "The payments are meant to help elderly people heat homes in winter."
Nearly half the overseas British nationals who have received the allowance this year spent the winter months in Spain, while some even stayed on the Caribbean island of Martinique.
The UK's major energy companies received intense criticism earlier this year for failing to reduce prices despite falling wholesale costs and the bitterly cold temperatures that swept across Britain during January and February.
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