Oral Answers to Questions

Josh Babarinde Excerpts

Tuesday 6th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Martin McCluskey]

The Government are gripped by the need to get energy bills down. That is why in April we will take £150 off the cost of energy for everyone in the country, and why we extended the warm home discount this year to 6 million households, almost doubling the previous number, and we will continue to take action to reduce bills for people across the country.

[Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)]

10. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the steps councils are taking to help local people achieve net zero.

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

Happy new year, Mr Speaker.

The Department works closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Support for councils includes the local net zero hubs—such as the Greater South East net zero hub, which covers the Eastbourne constituency—and Great British Energy, enabling councils and communities to build a pipeline of local clean energy projects, bringing growth and attracting commercial investment.

[Josh Babarinde]

Happy new year to you, Mr Speaker, and to the Minister.

Eastbournians without driveways—such as Lauren on Winchcombe Road—are committed to acquiring an electric vehicle in order to reduce their emissions, but they are being let down by Conservative-run East Sussex county council, which has failed to invest in pavement gulleys to allow safe cross-street electric vehicle charging. Will the Minister and her colleagues at MHCLG urge the council to follow the lead of Lib Dem-run Oxfordshire county council and pilot a cross-pavement electric vehicle charging scheme?

[Katie White]

Local councils play a pivotal role. I work closely with the local net zero delivery group and with UK100, and I have been fortunate enough to visit the Labour-run councils in Leeds and Sheffield to see the excellent local work that they have been doing to support net zero. The hon. Gentleman has made an excellent point about the need to ensure that councils help local people to do what they want to do in this regard, and have the necessary EV infrastructure. It sounds as though there are some good leadership opportunities to learn from other councils.