Oral Answers to Questions

Layla Moran Excerpts

Tuesday 25th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

Just yesterday, the energy regulator, Ofgem, announced that it has approved a £300 million investment to help triple the number of ultrarapid electric car charging points across the country. That will give a green light for energy network companies to invest in more than 200 low-carbon projects across the country over the next two years, including the installation of 1,800 new ultrarapid car charge points for motorway service stations, and a further 1,750 charge points in towns and cities.

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD)]

  The green homes grant was scrapped at the end of March, due to severe mismanagement. Nevertheless, we urgently need a long-term strategy to help homeowners cut emissions and bills, if we are to tackle the climate emergency properly. Now that local authorities have been awarded £300 million to deliver the green homes upgrades, what steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that councils have all the support they need to jump over bureaucratic hurdles and handle the unrealistic deadlines created for them, so that we can significantly cut carbon emissions across UK homes?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

The hon. Lady will appreciate that the green homes grant initially had three elements: the first dealt with owner-occupier houses, the second was distributed by local authorities in the way she describes, and the third was about public sector building decarbonisation. Two of those elements were successful. The third was a short-term stimulus, which we have closed and are looking to replace.