Oral Answers to Questions

Amanda Solloway Excerpts

Tuesday 16th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

4. What recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of energy social tariffs.

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

The Government remain focused on providing help where people need it most. We are already providing a package of support totalling over £104 billion, or £3,700 per household on average, from 2022 to 2025.

[Liz Twist]

Last year, the Government promised action to help the most vulnerable with their energy bills. In April 2023, the Secretary of State’s predecessor, the right hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps), said that

“a social tariff could be very helpful”.—[Official Report, 18 April 2023; Vol. 731, c. 111.]

Nearly a year on, we have heard absolutely nothing about a social tariff. Will the Minister explain to the House why the Government have abandoned plans for a social tariff?

[Amanda Solloway]

As the hon. Member will know, we are continuing our support for vulnerable households, and it is important that we help households as best we can. As an example, we have the £900 cost of living payments and the warm home discount payment. Obviously, we will constantly monitor where we are and will ensure that we continue to support all those vulnerable households.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (Ind)]

There is indeed a need for a social tariff, whether it is a cost of living crisis or a lack-of-wages crisis, given that the Resolution Foundation reported at the beginning of December that average wages across the UK were £10,700 lower than they should be compared with other comparable countries, following the past 15 years. There probably is a lack-of-wages crisis hitting the UK.

Regardless, the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee said in our “Preparing for the winter” report, in paragraph 24:

“We urge the Government and energy suppliers to consider implementing a form of social tariff and other measures to protect vulnerable households from being cut off from their energy supplies.”

That was a unanimous report across Labour Members, Tory Members and, of course, the pro-Scottish independence voice on the Committee, but will we see some movement on this from the Government? It is important and needed by everybody, and it would be particularly welcome to my constituents in Na h-Eileanan an Iar.

[Amanda Solloway]

As I have indicated, we are doing a lot of things to help people, including the most vulnerable in society. It is worth pointing out that it was announced recently in the autumn statement that the national living wage will be worth £1,800 for a full-time worker and that benefits will increase by 6.7%, which is worth £470 a year.

[Kate Osborne (Jarrow) (Lab)]

5. What estimate she has made of the number of households in fuel poverty in winter 2023-24.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

18. What estimate she has made of the number of households in fuel poverty in winter 2023-24.

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

Fuel poverty is devolved. Statistics for England are published annually by the Department. The next English statistics will be published on 15 February and will include estimates of the number of households in fuel poverty in 2023 and 2024.

[Kate Osborne]

Just under a third of people in my Jarrow constituency are now living in fuel poverty, like Maureen, who told me she is struggling to find an extra £975 per month due to the disability price tag. That will be made worse by the recent news of the energy price cap rise. Can the Minister explain why the Government still insist on giving subsidies worth billions to the oil and gas industry through loopholes in the windfall tax? Would that money not be better spent cutting people’s bills?

[Amanda Solloway]

I must point out the work the Government have been doing to help vulnerable people. Not only that, but we have halved energy bills. I have constant meetings with all stakeholders, including Citizens Advice and all the disability groups, and we are ensuring that we are supporting all vulnerable people in the cost of living crisis and as we go through this winter.

[Beth Winter]

I also have increasing numbers of constituents with significant levels of energy debt coming to my office seeking fuel vouchers. Why are the Government pursuing the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, which the Minister herself has said will not bring down bills, when economic forecasters warn that delays in decarbonising will leave consumers with higher prices? Is it not time the Government dropped the focus on fossil fuels and delivered instead the public investment in renewable energy that will bring down bills and go some way to averting the climate catastrophe?

[Amanda Solloway]

We are committed not only to helping vulnerable people, but to making sure we are providing the best energy security we can. That is why we are committed to all the policies we have introduced.

[Ruth Jones]

I listened very carefully to the answer the Minister gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon (Liz Twist), but I am still none the wiser, so I will ask again: can the Minister set out what recent discussions she has had with the Welsh Government about the social tariff, which the previous Secretary of State described as “very helpful”?

[Amanda Solloway]

Just to reiterate, I have been having conversations with all stakeholders, and when I say stakeholders, that does not just mean Citizens Advice or Disability Rights UK, but across Government and with different devolved Departments.

[Derek Thomas (St Ives) (Con)]

I am sure the Minister will agree that energy security and supporting the most vulnerable in fuel poverty go hand in hand. The way to address security is by both securing supply and cutting waste. Can she set out what the Government and her Department are doing to reduce the waste of energy from people’s homes?

[Amanda Solloway]

I want to acknowledge how hard my hon. Friend works for his constituents. Of course those are the things we are most mindful of: making sure we get energy efficiency not only in production, but in the way we use that energy.

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

6. What recent discussions she has had with businesses on the Government’s net zero targets.

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[Imran Hussain (Bradford East) (Lab)]

9. What recent discussions she has had with Ofgem on the compensation payment process for households that have had prepayment meters wrongfully installed.

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

I have met Ofgem and suppliers to reiterate my expectations that the new rules will be followed. Ofgem has announced that if a supplier wrongfully installs a prepayment meter, it will be expected to compensate its customers appropriately.

[Imran Hussain]

Forcing the installation of prepayment meters in the homes of some of our poorest and most vulnerable constituents is, frankly, a scandal. Although the Government rightly paused forced installations last year, some energy companies have been allowed to resume this outrageous practice under a new rules regime, which the Minister referred to, that still faces many questions. Does the Minister think that in the middle of winter—in a week when we have seen temperatures drop dramatically—we can trust energy suppliers that have a history of unscrupulous practices in force-fitting energy meters in the homes of vulnerable people to, in effect, self-regulate? Will the Government instead legislate to ban the scandalous forced installation of prepayment meters once and for all?

[Amanda Solloway]

I acknowledge how awful it was that people had their homes broken into to force fit prepayment meters, but there is also a place for prepayment meters to enable people and to support people out of debt. I reassure the House that I have scrutinised every level of the regime for prepayment meters, now that we are going back to reinforcement, to absolutely ensure that we will not see all the scandalous practices that happened before.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

10. What steps she is taking to support the oil and gas sector.

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[Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)]

12. What steps her Department is taking to help energy-intensive industries to decarbonise.

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

As chair of the all-party group on carbon capture, utilisation and storage, the hon. Member will know that the Government have committed £20 billion to support the early development of carbon capture, usage and storage, and up to £500 million for the industrial energy transformation fund to help industry to decarbonise, with phase 3 opening shortly.

[Alex Cunningham]

I welcome the investment in carbon capture—we just need to get on and make something happen there. Teesside is home to some of the most energy-intensive industries in the country, but instead of attracting more of those industries, including primary steel making, we are seeing plants closed down and jobs lost because investors do not see any industrial strategy from the Government. High energy costs mean that it is cheaper to import many of the goods that until now we have made at home. Why are the Government content to see this managed decline, rather than back the kind of strategy that will protect existing industries and drive investment and job creation?

[Amanda Solloway]

This Government invest throughout the country with our levelling-up agenda, but we have of course been investing in the steel industry, and we are mindful to ensure that we have the skills that will take us forward for those future requirements.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Sarah Jones (Croydon Central) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend the Member for Stockton North (Alex Cunningham) was of course absolutely right: we have seen managed decline under this Government, with no coherent industrial strategy, total failure to get the grid connected where we need it, and different Departments giving mixed messages and providing complicated processes to access any support.

On top of all that, our industry has to pay twice as much on its energy bills compared with European competitors. A recent report by UK Steel stated that our steel producers have to pay £117 million more per year on electricity, forcing the Government to deliver a subsidy through the supercharger, which in turn raises bills for everybody else. Instead of such short-term policies, is it time for Labour’s industrial strategy, Labour’s grid reform and Labour’s mission to become a clean energy superpower, so that we can permanently cut bills for everyone, grow our economy and give Britain its future back?

[Amanda Solloway]

This Government have demonstrated our commitment to help across the domestic and non-domestic sectors. However, we also recognise the vital role that the steel sector plays in our economy. In fact, the 2021 net zero strategy reaffirms our commitment to continue to work with the steel industry on decarbonisation.

[Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

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[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)]

T5.   More than 15% of families in my constituency live in fuel poverty, with a median energy efficiency score of just 65. How much of the 2019 general election manifesto pledge to spend £9.2 billion on improving energy efficiency has gone on retrofitting existing properties and not on new builds?

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

I will have to write to the hon. Member with the figure, but the Government remain firmly committed to new builds as well as to retrofitting.

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

T10.   Many Chelmsford residents have already switched to electric vehicles. Those who live in houses with driveways pay just 5% VAT when they charge their cars at home, but those who live in terraced houses, who are often less well off, have to pay 20% VAT when they use a commercial charger. I fully understand that tax is a matter for the Treasury Ministers, but does my right hon. Friend agree that if we could level out this tax, we could make electric vehicles more affordable to all people and thus help with our transition towards a lower carbon economy?

[Samantha Dixon (City of Chester) (Lab)]

T6. The hospitality sector is very important to Chester. Talking to the Chester business improvement district this morning, and following comments from chef Gary Usher, it is clear that the damaging impact of sky-high energy bills is still felt extremely significantly. What hope can the Minister offer hard-pressed restaurateurs in Chester and across the country?

[Amanda Solloway]

I am aware of the challenges facing all the industry. I have ongoing talks with UKHospitality and other groups. There are things that we can do, such as blend and extend, and we are looking at the brokers, and ensuring that third-party intermediaries are doing their jobs correctly.

[Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)]

Driving down to Parliament, I pass petrol stations. In my constituency, prices were 136.9p and 137.9p. However, at the service stations, they were 164.9p and 167.9p. That is a massive difference, which the public just will not tolerate and want something to be done about it. What will the Government do?

[Amanda Solloway]

Road fuel prices are down for a second consecutive month. Petrol prices are now at a level not seen since early October 2021, following our work to bring transparency to the market. Today, we launched the consultation to require petrol stations to report real-time prices, which will mean that drivers can compare prices and get the best deal, and prices will fall through greater competition.