Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Tuesday 21st May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Claire Coutinho]

I have learned in this role that the right hon. Gentleman likes to call people who disagree with him names. Last week, representatives from the Tony Blair Institute said that his plans would raise bills and harm our energy security. Are they flat earthers? An industry report said last week said that his plans would see up to 100,000 people lose their jobs. Are those people who are worried climate deniers? When will the right hon. Gentleman admit that his plans are based on fantasy and ideology and are the last thing that this country needs?

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

3. Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of public ownership of the energy system.

[The Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero (Justin Tomlinson)]

No.

[Liz Twist]

Every family in Britain is paying the price for the Government’s failure on energy, with bills through the roof while oil and gas profits have soared. A publicly owned clean energy company would allow us to take back control of our energy, cutting bills and creating jobs across the UK. Why are the Government letting their ideological stubbornness get in the way of supporting families, when they could follow other, successful countries and set up a publicly owned clean energy company like Great British Energy?

[Justin Tomlinson]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question, but I do not think that consumers will. The TUC itself has highlighted the potential £61 billion to £82 billion cost that will be landed either at the taxpayer’s doorstep or directly on to consumers’ bills, which is nothing to be thankful for.

--- Later in debate ---

[Justin Tomlinson]

My hon. Friend and constituency neighbour raises an important point about speculative development. As part of speeding up the grid queue, in which we have somewhere in the region of 700 GW of power capacity coming forward, we wish to prioritise shovel-ready schemes, not speculative schemes.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Claire Coutinho)]

Since I was last at the Dispatch Box, we have been building up Britain’s energy security. We have taken the next step in the biggest expansion of nuclear in 70 years, making Britain a producer of advanced nuclear fuel and pushing Putin out of the global energy market. Just today, Rolls-Royce announced that it will invest millions of pounds in bringing new jobs to Sheffield to manufacture small modular reactors. We have overachieved in our third carbon budget, which is keeping us on track to reach net zero, and we are building on our proud record of being the first major economy to halve emissions. We have invested over half a billion pounds to help cut energy costs and bills for schools and hospitals, and we are taking our next steps on PumpWatch to protect motorists from unfair prices.

[Liz Twist]

Latest figures by National Energy Action show that there are still 1,875 homes in my constituency with legacy prepayment meters. What action are the Government taking to remove this costly burden on families?

[Claire Coutinho]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. During my career, I have looked at the issue of prepayment meters for a long time, and one of the things that I am proudest of is our taking out the premium that people on prepayment meters were paying.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Tuesday 27th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)]

8. What steps she is taking to support households in fuel poverty during winter.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

10. What estimate she has made of the number of households in fuel poverty in winter 2023-24.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

13. What estimate she has made of the number of households in fuel poverty in winter 2023-24.

--- Later in debate ---

[Amanda Solloway]

Last winter, this Government delivered £40 billion for households and businesses. We also have the warm home discount, the winter fuel payment and the disability cost of living payment. We are committed to ensuring that affordability is top of our list in relation to energy security.

[Liz Twist]

We have had 14 years of fiasco after fiasco with energy saving schemes from this Government. Frankly, my constituents are fed up with it. In Gateshead, just seven homes have been upgraded under the Government’s latest energy efficiency scheme. Can the Minister say why this is such a disaster and why progress is so slow?

[Amanda Solloway]

We continue to drive energy efficiency improvements for lower-income and fuel-poor households, through schemes including the energy company obligation, the social housing decarbonisation scheme and the homes upgrade grant.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Tuesday 16th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Graham Stuart]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. Of course, we have been moving at pace. We have had the Winser review and the connections plan. In the autumn statement and, indeed, the Prime Minister’s speech in September, there was so much to drive forward and change the transmission infrastructure, including halving the 14-year timeline to seven years. We are working flat out.

It should be noted that the reason overhead lines are preferred is the cost of undergrounding. Not only is it vastly disruptive, as my hon. Friend the Member for North Norfolk (Duncan Baker) said; either undergrounding or offshore is five to ten times more expensive than having overhead infrastructure, and sometimes even more than that. That is why it is the starting presumption. We want to power Britain from Britain and in a low-cost manner, so that when we get to the 2030s and we have decarbonised our electricity system, we have a low-cost electricity system, while ensuring that we install the infrastructure in a way that is friendly and supportive to communities.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

4. What recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of energy social tariffs.

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

The Government remain focused on providing help where people need it most. We are already providing a package of support totalling over £104 billion, or £3,700 per household on average, from 2022 to 2025.

[Liz Twist]

Last year, the Government promised action to help the most vulnerable with their energy bills. In April 2023, the Secretary of State’s predecessor, the right hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps), said that

“a social tariff could be very helpful”.—[Official Report, 18 April 2023; Vol. 731, c. 111.]

Nearly a year on, we have heard absolutely nothing about a social tariff. Will the Minister explain to the House why the Government have abandoned plans for a social tariff?

[Amanda Solloway]

As the hon. Member will know, we are continuing our support for vulnerable households, and it is important that we help households as best we can. As an example, we have the £900 cost of living payments and the warm home discount payment. Obviously, we will constantly monitor where we are and will ensure that we continue to support all those vulnerable households.

--- Later in debate ---

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

T9. I am sorry to hear that the Secretary of State is ill, but could the Minister explain why she has taken money from Michael Hintze, funder of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, an organisation that peddles climate science denial? Does he think that is appropriate?

[Graham Stuart]

I apologise for the Secretary of State not being here. I will write to the hon. Lady promptly in answer to her question.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Tuesday 28th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Graham Stuart]

I share my hon. Friend’s enthusiasm for tidal. We have had a specific pot in previous rounds of the CfD precisely to develop that. We are the world leader in deployment and will continue to be, and I hope that her vision for her local area will be fulfilled.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

T9. Over the past year, the north-east has seen a dramatic collapse in the number of homes being upgraded through the Government’s sustainable warmth and eco schemes. That poor record is costing households in my constituency dearly. What is the Minister going to do to put it right?

[Amanda Solloway]

I have previously answered questions on that and indicated that we have committed to making sure that we eradicate fuel poverty and support all people with their energy bills.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Tuesday 19th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Graham Stuart]

Unusually, the hon. Lady has got her facts wrong: I do not think that amendment was even selected for debate that day. According to the North Sea Transition Authority, flaring was reduced by more than 10% just last year, contributing to a reduction of nearly 50% between 2018 and 2022. As I have said, the North Sea Transition Authority estimates that methane emissions have fallen by more than 40% to fewer than 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent—a record low. We have old existing infrastructure and are moving with a maximum of ambition to reduce emissions, and we have a successful track record to date.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

5. What assessment she has made of the implications for her Department’s policies of the Climate Change Committee’s 2023 Progress Report to Parliament, published in June 2023.

[The Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero (Graham Stuart)]

I am grateful for the work of the Climate Change Committee, and I pay tribute in particular to the commitment of its outgoing chair, Lord Deben. The Government will respond to the committee’s report in October.

[Liz Twist]

The latest Climate Change Committee report found that, out of 50 key indicators of Government progress on tackling climate change, just nine were on track. According to Energy UK, even before the disastrous offshore wind auction, the UK was forecast to have the slowest growth in low-carbon electricity generation of the world’s eight largest economies up to 2030. Does the Minister recognise that the Government’s failure has cost every family £180 in higher bills?

[Graham Stuart]

Our climate leadership is measurable and real. We have reduced emissions by more than any other major economy since 1990. We were the first to legislate for net zero. We have eliminated coal, which as late as 2012 produced nearly 40% of our electricity supply—the legacy of the Labour party—and we have lifted renewables from 7% to 48%. We have cut emissions by more than others, transforming our energy system, and we are leading on this issue internationally and domestically. That is exactly what the Government rely on in fulfilling their aspiration to climate leadership.

Powering Up Britain

Liz Twist Excerpts

Thursday 30th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

Too many homes in places such as Chopwell in my constituency urgently need insulation and energy efficiency. They, and people across the country, face additional charges of up to £1,000. How will the Government take active steps to address issues such as those in Chopwell, to ensure that they are energy efficient and that people can benefit from better homes?

[Graham Stuart]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to highlight the issue. That is why we have set up the energy efficiency taskforce. We are putting in £6.5 billion in this Parliament, as well as announcing the major insulation scheme today. We have another £6 billion between 2025 and 2028. We are absolutely committed to ensuring that homes are insulated. I am pleased that today’s announcements will see 300,000 of the most energy-inefficient homes in the country tackled, reducing families’ bills by hundreds of pounds a year as a result.