Oral Answers to Questions
Joshua Reynolds Excerpts(2 weeks, 4 days ago)
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Miatta Fahnbulleh
The right hon. Member raises an important point. We know that families in off-grid households are under huge pressure, and we are taking action to support them. We have put aside £50 million to support, for example, families who use heating oil. We are encouraging households to do that because the uptake has been lower than we want, but we are also introducing regulation of heating oil so that we can protect households. We know that there is more we can do, and we are absolutely committed to getting it done.
Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)
Cornwall Insight forecasts that the energy price cap will increase by a further 16% in January. The Secretary of State has spoken about taking VAT off electricity bills, but that amounts to £45 for an average household. In reality, that is like trying to fill a swimming pool with a thimble—it is not going to work. How will she help to protect families who are already struggling, and will she consider an essential energy guarantee so that all the energy that we need can be affordable for every household?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We are very clear about where the end destination is. We need to get to an energy system that is affordable for everyone, and we absolutely recognise that the present system is not. We are taking short-term action to give people breathing space, but ultimately I come back to the question of why families are under so much pressure. It is, in fact, because we are acutely exposed to global fossil fuel markets that we do not control. When we talk about clean energy, it is because that is the route by which we get bills down. We have to take the long-term action. We also have to ensure sure that we are reforming the market so that it works in the interests of consumers. We are providing breathing space and standing by people because we need to, but absolutely taking the hard long-term action so that we can fix this problem for good.
Oral Answers to Questions
Joshua Reynolds Excerpts(3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Michael Shanks
I suspect that in the coming days England fans will learn a lot from Norway in something else. On the serious point that the hon. Member raises, we should first recognise that Norway took a different approach to extraction from the North sea 60 years ago, and it has continued to do that over its 60 years of extraction from the North sea. Secondly, we are not turning off the taps in the North sea. We have said that we will introduce transitional energy certificates to allow new production tied back to existing fields.
Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)
Business energy costs are a significant barrier, holding British business back from being competitive on the world stage. Has the Secretary of State done any analysis of the potential GDP growth from reducing business energy costs and getting British businesses moving?
Oral Answers to Questions
Joshua Reynolds Excerpts(9 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Martin McCluskey
My hon. Friend is a champion not just for his own constituency, but for Cornwall as a whole. We support the development of geothermal projects and recognise, in particular, the potential of geothermal heat as a low-carbon source for heat networks. We will have more to say about that in the warm homes plan, which will be published soon.
Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)
Citizens Advice notes that the warm home discount has not kept pace with rising energy bills and will struggle to touch the sides for families in energy debt. Will the Minister therefore commit to a Government review of whether the £150 discount provides sufficient support for the families who really need it right now?
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.
Oral Answers to Questions
Joshua Reynolds Excerpts(1 year ago)
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Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)
By prioritising partnerships with schools, we will help to protect their budgets. I draw the Secretary of State’s attention to schools in Maidenhead, and specifically Furze Platt senior school—where I happen to be a governor—which recently partnered with MaidEnergy to install solar panels on the school’s building, thereby doing right by its budgets and by the environment, and setting a great example for the students taught there.
Ed Miliband
I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on being a school governor and on the work the school is doing. We can talk about the tangible benefits, but the wider point is that young people want us to act on these issues, and that is part of having an education system that teaches them about the benefits of moving towards clean energy. When I go into schools, there is massive enthusiasm for that kind of initiative.
Oral Answers to Questions
Joshua Reynolds Excerpts(1 year, 6 months ago)
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Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
We know that consumers are frustrated by standing charges, which is why we are committed to lowering them. Ofgem has been consulting on introducing a zero standing charge tariff that would shift the costs on to unit rates. The consultation has now closed, and we will be working with Ofgem to take this forward.
Mr Reynolds
Has the Department assessed whether the rising standing charges are discouraging residents in our constituencies from switching to heat pumps and electric vehicles because they are concerned about the fixed costs that will come with them?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
There are fixed costs within standing charges relating to, for instance, the cost of maintaining and upgrading networks, which we have to cover, but we recognise the imbalance between the price that people are paying for electricity and the price that they are paying for gas. We are committed to dealing with that imbalance, because we think it right that consumers can transition to clean heat. That is the way in which we reduce the amount of energy we use and, critically, that is the way in which we reduce bills.
Oral Answers to Questions
Joshua Reynolds Excerpts(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Sarah Jones
I thank my hon. Friend for his concern for his constituents. As I said, I am very receptive to calls from BCSSS trustees. I wrote to the Chancellor, who sent back a positive response, and we are now taking the next steps in this process. I will be reconvening trustees to meet and talk about it again.
Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. We are very aware of the issues with park homes, and industry support is provided to residents. As we think about expanding the warm home discount and the support we provide for households that cannot afford their energy, we will, of course, have park homes in our mind.