Oral Answers to Questions

Helen Maguire Excerpts

Tuesday 10th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Michael Shanks]

This is just the most absurd nonsense from the Conservatives, who I see are now crowdsourcing their energy policy on Twitter. It is not surprising that they come up with that sort of nonsense, when that is the information that they use. Even in the most ambitious deployment scenarios, all the statistics suggest that 0.4% of UK land would be occupied by solar. The Conservatives come to this House time and time and time again calling for bills to be brought down, but their policy would put them up and turn away the investment that is driving jobs and opportunities across the country. They had no answers in energy policy for 14 years, and they have learned absolutely nothing in opposition.

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

4. What plans his Department has to help improve GP access to decarbonisation schemes.

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

This Government are absolutely committed to supporting the NHS to be at the heart of our decarbonisation effort in order that, first, it gets to reduce its emissions and that, secondly, it can reduce its dependence on expensive fossil fuels. That is why Great British Energy has already supported over 260 NHS sites with up to £130 million of funding. GPs are not part of NHS sites but under the boiler upgrade scheme they can access £7,500 towards heat pumps and £5,000 towards biomass boilers.

[Helen Maguire]

Primary care accounts for around 25% of the NHS’s carbon emissions, with many GPs working in ageing, energy-inefficient buildings with high running costs. Research from the Royal College of General Practitioners reveals that only five GP practices in England and Wales have accessed the boiler upgrade grant scheme since May 2022, and most are unable to access the public sector decarbonisation scheme. GP partners across the UK identify a lack of capital funding as the main barrier to decarbonisation, yet 260 NHS trusts are rightly receiving Government funding for new solar panels. Will the Minister meet me and the Royal College of General Practitioners to discuss how GPs can access decarbonisation schemes, and will she expand GB Energy’s investment model to GPs?

[Katie White]

I thank the hon. Member for raising this really important issue, and for raising the figures. I think she would agree that we have an ambitious plan. Today’s announcement of the local power plan may well meet some of the needs that she raises. I will take this issue away and have a look at it. We recognise that retrofitting commercial buildings can be costly and complex, and we are looking at other levers to do that, including accessing private finance and exploring novel options such as property-linked finance. Today’s announcement will help, and I am very happy to discuss it further with her.