Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Tom Randall

Tuesday 21st March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Tom Randall (Gedling) (Con)]

9. What fiscal steps he is taking to support households with the cost of energy.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Jeremy Hunt)]

The Government have provided unprecedented support to help households and businesses with energy costs, totalling £94 billion for households and £8 billion for businesses. That is more than £100 billion over 2022 and 2023.

--- Later in debate ---

[Tom Randall]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that a long-term energy strategy is critical to helping people with the cost of living? Will he outline what steps the Government are taking to enable this through the funding of nuclear energy?

[Jeremy Hunt]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this issue, as is my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Virginia Crosbie), who does so on every single occasion she can. Nuclear is important because there will be times when the weather does not generate the energy we need from renewable sources. That is why we announced in the Budget that we are going ahead with Great British Nuclear and with the competition for small modular reactors, provided that an investigation this year finds that that is viable, and we will class nuclear power as environmentally sustainable, subject to consultation.