Business of the House

Debate between Lucy Powell and Ann Davies

Thursday 12th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

My constituent Mr Wayne Arnold has compiled a dossier of faults following an ECO4 upgrade at his home last year. I have the lever arch file here—it is two inches thick and well worth looking at. It has taken 62 weeks for the works to be completed. Another constituent, Judie Haines, cannot find local engineers to service the ECO4 system that has been put into her home. The company has become insolvent, meaning that my constituents cannot get remedial works completed. Will the Leader of the House allow a debate in Government time on the poor work that has been carried out under ECO4, the effect that that has had on vulnerable households and the lessons learned as we move on towards ECO5?

[Lucy Powell]

I am sorry to hear about the experiences that the hon. Lady’s constituents have had under ECO4. The Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Peckham (Miatta Fahnbulleh), made a statement to the House a few weeks ago, when this Government uncovered the real challenges of the previous scheme, which had been introduced under the previous Government, and the poor level of some work that had been carried out. We are taking steps to put that right and ensure that we learn all the lessons from that for the next phase, and I know that the Minister will be keen to keep the House constantly updated on that.

Business of the House

Debate between Lucy Powell and Ann Davies

Thursday 22nd May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I am really glad to hear my hon. Friend’s welcome for GB Energy’s investment in solar panels on his local hospital and that it is already having an effect. He raises the important issue of how we can fully utilise solar technology and other advances in green technologies in new homes. That is what this Government are committed to doing.

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

My constituent’s daughter, Greta Marie Otteson, and her fiancé, Arno Els Quinton, tragically died in Vietnam on Christmas day. The limoncello drink supplied by a local restaurant was contaminated with methanol, a toxic industrial chemical sometimes used instead of alcohol. Greta’s parents, Susan and Paul Otteson, are seeking transparency and justice. Notwithstanding their attempts to do so over the last five months, they remain without answers. Will the Leader of the House ask the Foreign Office to urgently provide either Greta’s parents or my office with an update on the ongoing criminal case?

[Lucy Powell]

Like many other Members, I am sure, I remember hearing of the shocking nature of this case over Christmas. I am sorry that the hon. Lady’s constituents have suffered since and have not been able to get the answers they need on the deaths of their loved ones. I will ensure that the relevant Minister is in touch with her at the earliest opportunity to ensure that her constituents get the answers and support they need.

Business of the House

Debate between Lucy Powell and Ann Davies

Thursday 1st May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I join my hon. Friend in paying respect to and remembering those who served in the second world war. We will be celebrating VE day, as well as VJ Day, next week, in his constituency and right across the country. I thank you, Mr Speaker, for putting on so many events across Parliament next week to ensure that every one of us can pay tribute to those who served this country so well.

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

Property owners in my constituency, including the widowed, the elderly and those with health issues, have been threatened with extensive court costs because permission to enter land on manifestly unfair terms has been declined. The property developer has failed to properly explore cable ploughing, despite that method offering reduced costs, reduced biodiversity loss and a lower carbon footprint. This week’s report from the Institution of Engineering and Technology has evidenced shortcomings: the cost comparisons are incomplete and unreliable. Does the Leader of the House agree that justice, not financial resources, should dictate the outcome of court proceedings, and that the developer in my constituency, Green GEN Cymru, should explore properly project-specific costs for alternatives that carry community acceptance?

[Lucy Powell]

I am really sorry to hear about what the hon. Member’s constituents are going through. She is absolutely right to raise these matters in the House. I am sure that the property developer will have heard her calls. She is right that what many of our constituents want in these circumstances is access to the law and access to justice, which is often denied, especially when it comes to property rights, and in contests, as she described. I will raise the matter with the relevant Minister, and I hope that she gets a full reply.

Business of the House

Debate between Lucy Powell and Ann Davies

Thursday 27th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this matter, and I pay tribute to Dr Jenefer Llewelyn. She sounds like a truly remarkable woman and I am really sorry to learn that she is no longer with us, leaving behind her partner and three children who I am sure are incredibly proud of the contribution she made across all the professions my hon. Friend described. He rightly raises the treatment and the supply chain for medicines. The Department of Health and Social Care is committed to making sure that people such as Dr Llewelyn get the treatment they need in a timely fashion, but I will make sure that a Minister responds to my hon. Friend fully.

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

Some 172 of my constituents have been affected by the British Coal staff superannuation scheme scandal. In the autumn Budget, the UK Government released equivalent funds from the miners’ pension scheme, but did not do so for those in the BCSSS. The Government’s failure to release frozen funds is causing immense hardship such as that caused to the Allied Steel and Wire workers. Pensioners who have paid into the system for decades are now left without the support they deserve. What assurance can the Leader of the House give me that the Government are working towards a fair resolution for those affected by this scandal? Can we please have a written statement on the issue?

[Lucy Powell]

I am sorry to hear of that case; the hon. Lady raises an important issue. We have been taking steps to make sure there is a fair resolution in these cases. I will ensure she gets a full update on the matter. Should it progress further, I will make sure that it is brought forward to the Floor of the House.

Business of the House

Debate between Lucy Powell and Ann Davies

Thursday 20th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend is right that this issue is being felt right across the country. We have called it fleecehold, and that is for a reason. It is why we want to end these leasehold estates for good. We have already ended leasehold for new housing, and we will be ending new leasehold for flats, too. We are bringing forward the commonhold White Paper and, later this year, the draft leasehold reform legislation. We look forward to working with him and his local councillors to end fleecehold for good.

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

I offer my condolences to the shadow Leader of the House.

Plans to install electricity pylons across my constituency are causing huge concern to many of my constituents. We have a Pencader-based cable-ploughing company, ATP, which specialises in the innovative spider plough technique. It has a low impact on the environment and has laid underground power lines all over Europe, including here in the UK. Will the Leader of the House join me in celebrating this local success story, which offers an efficient, ecologically friendly, environmentally friendly and, most importantly, efficient way of addressing our energy infrastructure needs?

[Lucy Powell]

The hon. Lady raises an important matter, and I know that the building of new pylons is an issue of concern for local people in many constituencies. We need to build the energy infrastructure of the future, which includes new pylons, but we are bringing forward measures to ensure that those who live near new pylons will receive £2,500 off their energy bills in the coming years. Putting cabling underground is an innovative approach, and the example that she gives is one that I am sure the Secretary of State will be keen to look at.