An MHK has warned that some Manx families are facing a choice between heating their homes, cooking meals and keeping the lights on, as he called on Treasury to provide additional help with rising heating costs this winter.

Ayre and Michael MHK Stephen Broad raised the concerns during Tuesday's sitting of the House of Keys, asking Treasury Minister Michael Crowe what steps had been taken to mitigate the impact of increasing heating fuel prices on households.

Mr Broad told the House that some families were facing increasingly difficult decisions over their household finances.

He said: ‘In my constituency, there are families that are having to choose between turning the lights on, cooking meals, or heating their homes.

‘We are getting dangerously close to a Dickensian novel for some families on the Isle of Man.’

He asked whether the minister could offer those households ‘some real assistance this winter’, adding that keeping warm risked becoming ‘a luxury rather than a basic necessity’.

Mr Crowe said the situation described was one that nobody in the House wanted to see and pointed to existing support available through various government departments, including Social Security.

He said disruption to energy supplies had led to sharp increases in retail heating oil prices on the island, which were regularly updated when new shipments arrived.

Mr Crowe said that, despite the substantial increase in heating oil prices, it remained cheaper than the equivalent costs for natural gas and electricity heating.

The minister said Treasury needed to consider fairness and proportionality when deciding whether to introduce support measures.

‘It is challenging to justify support for heating oil customers when prices are comparable or lower than those who have been borne by users of other fuels for many years,’ he told members.

Mr Crowe also highlighted the forthcoming Heat Wise Home Scheme, which is expected to begin in the next couple of months.