Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to make heat pumps more (a) accessible and (b) cost effective to lower income households.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Warm Homes Plan will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future.
The Government is taking steps to make heat pumps more efficient and easier to install, ensuring more households can install a heat pump and benefit from cleaner, more efficient heating. As well as increasing funding for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to £295 million next financial year, we are removing outdated planning rules and consulting on product efficiency standards.
Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department has taken to (a) communicate how his Department's policies will help to lower energy bills in 2025 and (b) maintain the level of energy bills during fluctuations in the energy market.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Energy bills remain high for too many households. The government’s clean energy mission is the only route to protecting billpayers from the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets in the long-term, which is why we are sprinting to clean, homegrown energy through the Clean Power Action Plan.
We have also taken urgent action to improve energy efficiency in British homes and protect households’ energy bills. On 21 November 2024, we announced how our Warm Homes Plan will support households to take up measures that can help save money on their bills and deliver cleaner heating, with up to 300,000 homes to benefit from upgrades in the next financial year. We also announced proposals on 7 February 2025 for private landlords to meet higher energy performance standards in their properties by 2030, which could save private renters £240 per year off their energy bills. These policies have been communicated across media and digital channels, including ministerial media interviews, GOV.UK publications, graphics and videos on social media. They have been further amplified through work with our partners to reach wider audiences who follow their channels.
This is alongside our support for the ‘Speak, Seek, Save’ campaign run by Citizens Advice, providing advice to consumers on how to save energy and reduce their bills, which includes publishing and amplifying content on social media.