Oral Answers to Questions

Al Pinkerton Excerpts

Tuesday 10th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

2. What steps his Department is taking to help reduce industrial electricity prices.

[Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)]

10. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of supporting businesses with the cost of energy.

[Zöe Franklin (Guildford) (LD)]

18. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of supporting businesses with the cost of energy.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris McDonald]

It is exactly that disparity in international energy prices for industry, which the previous Conservative Government left us with, that we are addressing through our clean power 2030 mission. However, we recognise that as clean power is coming online, industry will need further support. Both Ametek and SSS Gears are exactly the sorts of manufacturing businesses that this Government wish to support through initiatives such as our British industrial competitiveness scheme. The consultation for that scheme has just closed—I do hope both of those businesses responded to that consultation—and we will publish the results shortly.

[Dr Pinkerton]

Small and large businesses in my constituency of Surrey Heath—everything from small cafés to care providers and large manufacturers—tell me that they are being crushed by high energy costs. Given that the wholesale cost of gas has fallen substantially since its peak in 2022, can the Minister indicate what proportion of a typical business energy bill is driven by wholesale costs, network charges and policy costs, and which one of those is likely to be borne down on over the next year as a direct consequence of Government action?

[Chris McDonald]

The hon. Gentleman is quite right to point out the impact of energy costs on small businesses. As we have seen, that has been largely driven over many years by the linkage between energy costs and gas prices, which is something that this Government are determined to deal with as we pile on renewable energy as part of our clean power mission. UK gas costs are competitive with Europe after policy costs are included, but of course we want to remove businesses from having to rely on the whims of the fossil fuel market and enable them to rely on low-cost, secure, home-grown energy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Al Pinkerton Excerpts

Tuesday 14th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Katie White)]

I share my hon. Friend’s concern regarding those reports. This Government are focused on making transport greener, including by cutting air pollution to improve health and the environment. We also need to ensure that people are abiding by the rules. The responsible body, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, is pursuing the potential diesel emissions non-compliance using its procedures and the tools available. Officials at the DFT have assured me that the findings from these investigations will be published in a timely and appropriate manner; as an impatient politician, I can assure her that I will continue to press for a prompt and thorough interpretation of “timely”.

[Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)]

T4.  According to the National Audit Office, some 98% of the 23,000 homes fitted with external wall insulation under Government schemes in recent years now need urgent repairs to correct faults that lead directly to damp and mould. What plans does the Secretary of State have to remediate those affected properties, and what does he have to say to the 3,000 residents of Surrey Heath living today in fuel poverty to give them confidence—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Climate change will have happened before you conclude.