Energy Prices Bill

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Excerpts

Committee stage
Monday 24th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Lab)]

My Lords, many of the amendments in this group are sensible and could easily be accepted by the Government. We on these Benches will support Amendment 8 if the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, tests the opinion of the House. The Member’s explanatory statement is exactly as the noble Lord said, and it is a modest amendment:

“This new clause would require the Secretary of State to report”—


just to report—

“on the impact of energy efficiency programmes in reducing energy costs.”

It is modest indeed, and I am at a loss as to why His Majesty’s Government are not willing to accept it.

To quote from the government website:

“Improving the energy efficiency of UK buildings is the quickest way we can support families and businesses, to respond to rising energy prices.”


I am sure we all agree. It goes on:

“Improving the efficiency of our homes could reduce our heating bills by around 20% and reduce our dependency on foreign gas.”

Again, that is something I am sure we all agree with, so these amendments are in line with BEIS’s priorities and language.

As the noble Lord, Lord Foster of Bath, said, the UK has some of the least energy-efficient housing in Europe. According to my figures, 19 million homes are estimated to be below EPC band C. His figure was 15 million; I am sure he will forgive the 4 million. In excess of 10 million homes are worse than EPC band C. Under the Conservatives, home insulation rates have plummeted. In 2013, the then Government cut energy efficiency programmes, after which insulation rates fell by 92% in 2013. Further to that, new statistics show that home insulation dropped again by 62% in the second quarter of 2022 compared with the first quarter, with only 35,000 installations being recorded. The Resolution Foundation estimates that 9 million households are paying an extra £170 per year on their energy bills as a result of these failures. Since then, the Government have botched the green homes grant, which has yet to be adequately replaced.

These amendments would help with the bills people have to pay, and they would help the Government, the country and consumers. On top of this, Labour would give the devolved Administrations the power and resources to bring every home in their area up to EPC band C or higher within a decade.

The chief executive of E.ON, Michael Lewis, has pointed out that a sustained programme of energy efficiency could have reduced the amount of energy used in UK homes by 25%. That is the equivalent of six Hinkley Point C power stations. As we have heard throughout the debate on these amendments, the cheapest energy is the energy we do not use. A simple uprating of a home from EPC band D to band C would save the bill payer some £500 a year on the basis of April prices, so if it is put to the test we will support Amendment 8.