Babies born today will not see UK fuel poverty eradicated in their lifetime, Labour has claimed.
Shadow energy minister Gill Furniss accused the Government of failing to tackle the UK's "cold home crisis" as she insisted addressing fuel poverty would ease the burden on the NHS while also improving energy efficiency and saving taxpayers' cash.
SNP MP Ian Blackford also questioned why fuel poverty affects so many in Scotland despite the country producing a "bonanza" for the Westminster administration via North Sea oil tax revenues.
The remarks emerged in a general debate on fuel poverty.
Speaking in the Commons, Ms Furniss said: "No one should be choosing between eating and heating their home.
"Children should not be growing up in cold damp rooms.
"Old people should not have to stay in bed or live in just one room because they can't warm their house."
She said the Government's record on making households more efficient was "abysmal" as it will take more than 80 years to reach its own targets, according to National Energy Action, a fuel poverty charity.
Ms Furniss said: "A baby born today will not see the end of fuel poverty in the UK in her lifetime. That is a scandal."
Mr Blackford (Ross, Skye and Lochaber) addressed how some Scots struggle in "energy-rich" Scotland.
He said: "Our unique characteristics as an energy producer should not be trapping our people in fuel poverty.
"Let's not forget that Westminster has extracted a bounty of £360 billion in taxation receipts from North Sea oil since the 1970s.
"Where is the long-term benefit of this dividend?
"Why is it that in an energy-rich country like Scotland, which has produced a bonanza for the Government, that our citizens face fuel poverty to such an extent?"
Energy Minister Jesse Norman said the Government is tackling fuel poverty.
He said: "We know that households living on low incomes are all too often left to live in the coldest and least efficient homes, and we know that living in a cold home can have negative implications, to say the least, for health and wellbeing.
"The official 2016 fuel poverty statistics show that despite progress towards the 2020 milestone (to reduce fuel poverty) ... there remains a significant challenge to make progress to the 2030 fuel poverty targets."
He said the fuel poverty targets set by the Government in 2014 are rightly "ambitious" and that ministers will consult on what policies they should adopt to meet them.
He added: "But we can ensure that we continue, as a nation, as a country together, to move forward and take action."
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