UK government urged to 'get a grip' of oil price subsidies by DUP MP Carla Lockhart following 'chaos from internal fighting'

The UK government has been urged to "get a grip" of home heating oil prices as families in Northern Ireland worry about the drop in temparature as the winter approaches.

Under Liz Truss' short period in office, the government promised and later amended a scheme to subsidise sky-high energy prices for both electricity and gas.

A cap has been placed on the sums companies can charge households for each unit of energy consumed, with the public purse making up the difference.

But with the majority of homes in Northern Ireland heated by oil-fired boilers, rather than gas, a voucher worth £100 has been offered instead.

The DUP MP Carla Lockhart has been amongst those urging the government to do more for those with oil heating.

The energy minister Lord Callanan, in an exchange in the House of Lords earlier this month with the UUP peer Lord Rogan, said the government would be "monitoring the price of heating oil and other alternative fuels closely in the months ahead to see whether further payments are required".

Now, with Rishi Sunak in post following Ms Truss' departure, DUP MP Carla Lockhart is urging the government to take action on the £100 subsidy.

"Westminster needs to get a grip of this situation," she told the News Letter. "This has been lingering on for too long. People are worrying about their next fill of oil. They are worried about heating their homes during what is set to be a cold winter.

"It is time they got their internal politics sorted out and started to work for the actual needs of the people."

She added: "The chaos from this internal fighting and bickering doesn't help families who are struggling to both heat and eat."

The latest prices from the Northern Ireland Consumer Council show that it costs an average of £826.89 to fill a 900 litre tank of oil - a reduction on the previous week's price but still far above historic trends.

Ms Lockhart said added: “Northern Ireland has over 60% of homes which are still oil-fired heating. There has to be a recognition of that and some sort of levelling up with regards people who heat their homes with oil in comparison with those who heat with gas.”