Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Kwasi Kwarteng and Mary Kelly Foy(2 years, 10 months ago)
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Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab)
Households up and down the country are facing a cost of living crisis, with energy prices set to rise in April. While many are facing the choice between heating and eating, North sea oil and gas producers are posting record profits. Can the Secretary of State tell me why the Government are not backing the windfall tax on North sea oil and gas producers’ profits that would help measures to ease the burden on ordinary people?
Kwasi Kwarteng
As the hon. Lady knows, we remain absolutely committed to helping people through a difficult time. We have the warm home discount, which is worth £140, and the winter fuel payment, which is worth £200. We are doing all we can to make sure that we mitigate and alleviate the pressure of increased prices this winter.
Storm Arwen
Debate between Kwasi Kwarteng and Mary Kelly Foy(3 years ago)
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Kwasi Kwarteng
As I said, I spoke to three CEOs of the DNOs. The CEO of ScottishPower was not one of those I spoke to, but I am very hopeful that we can get a call today, and I am looking forward to sharing with my hon. Friend exactly what that distributor is doing.
Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab)
Some of my constituents in places such as Sherburn Hill, Waterhouses, Bearpark and Low Burnhall are facing a full seven days without heating or electricity. This is a national scandal. I thank the emergency services, the workers, the engineers and all the community groups who have stepped up to help those most in need, but what are the Government doing to help the most vulnerable residents in Durham to get the help that they need—not tomorrow, not next week, but today?
Kwasi Kwarteng
As I said in a number of responses, we are working with the local resilience fora. The job of the local resilience forum, in the first instance, is to find out what is going on and to co-ordinate local responses, and then, of course, the Government are very focused on helping them to get what they need to make the situation much more comfortable than it is.