Oral Answers to Questions

Martin McCluskey Excerpts

Tuesday 6th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

9. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of extending the warm home discount on levels of fuel poverty.

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

Happy new year to you, Mr Speaker, and to other hon. Members.

I am proud that the Labour Government have extended the warm home discount to an extra 2.7 million households, extending the total to around 6 million. The Conservatives opposed that change. It will make a vital difference to so many families this winter, including approximately an additional 220,000 households in the south-west. That is almost double the number of households supported year on year.

[Noah Law]

I greatly welcome these cuts to forthcoming bills. Notwithstanding those potential improvements, many of my constituents in Roche, for example, live in areas not connected to the mains gas grid, and the initial outlay associated with implementing renewable technologies can be prohibitively expensive for people. Can the scope of the warm homes plan be extended so that areas rich in geological resources but exposed to fuel poverty, such as Roche, can benefit from geothermal heat networks and significantly reduce bills on the back of those cheap renewable sources?

[Martin McCluskey]

My hon. Friend is a champion not just for his own constituency, but for Cornwall as a whole. We support the development of geothermal projects and recognise, in particular, the potential of geothermal heat as a low-carbon source for heat networks. We will have more to say about that in the warm homes plan, which will be published soon.

[Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)]

Citizens Advice notes that the warm home discount has not kept pace with rising energy bills and will struggle to touch the sides for families in energy debt. Will the Minister therefore commit to a Government review of whether the £150 discount provides sufficient support for the families who really need it right now?

[Martin McCluskey]

The Government are gripped by the need to get energy bills down. That is why in April we will take £150 off the cost of energy for everyone in the country, and why we extended the warm home discount this year to 6 million households, almost doubling the previous number, and we will continue to take action to reduce bills for people across the country.

[Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)]

10. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the steps councils are taking to help local people achieve net zero.

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[Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)]

11. What steps he is taking to help tackle fuel poverty.

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

Tackling fuel poverty is a priority for this Government. We will publish a new fuel poverty strategy for England to ensure that many more fuel-poor households are protected by 2030, at the same time as publishing the warm homes plan. We have also expanded the warm home discount to nearly 6 million households, adding approximately 2.7 million additional households to the scheme.

[Baggy Shanker]

Everyone deserves a warm and safe place to call home, but for the 20% of families in Derby South who live in fuel poverty this week’s cold snap is a nightmare as they struggle to heat their homes. What longer-term plans are being made so that families can see the benefits of a Labour Government and do not dread this sort of weather?

[Martin McCluskey]

I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. Energy prices are still far too high because of dither and delay from the Opposition when they were in government. No one should have to make the difficult choices that my hon. Friend describes. The Government are totally focused on reducing the cost of energy and making life easier for people throughout the UK. That focus includes the £150 off the cost of energy from next April—the removal of those costs from bills—and the extension of the warm home discount. We are also working with other Government Departments to improve access to data so that we can properly target support for households. We will come forward with more proposals in due course.

[Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

Charities estimate that more than 6 million households in the UK live in fuel poverty. The Minister’s answer did not even mention the warm homes plan, but he talked about dither and delay. His Government have repeatedly postponed publication of the warm homes plan. They have cancelled previous fuel poverty programmes without replacing them with new insulation programmes. When will the Minister finally publish the warm homes plan? How many of those 6 million households in fuel poverty will benefit from it?

[Martin McCluskey]

It is worth waiting for the warm homes plan, which will be published very soon. Alongside that there will be an ambitious fuel poverty plan for England. The Chancellor has already announced £15 billion of funding for that. We will set it out very soon and I look forward to constructive discussions with the hon. Member when it is published.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Pippa Heylings (South Cambridgeshire) (LD)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker, and happy new year.

It is freezing outside and, tragically, more than 4,000 households in my constituency are living in fuel poverty. The Government’s decision to cut the energy company obligation, which was the key mechanism for delivering home insulation and energy efficiency, without any details about what will replace it, risks pushing more families into fuel poverty. The businesses and supply chains that have fulfilled ECO contracts for more than a decade have been left in limbo. Again, we have heard no date for the plan. Will the Secretary of State or the Minister finally say when it will be released, thus ending uncertainty for businesses and the suffering of households?

[Martin McCluskey]

The warm homes plan will be published soon and I look forward to conversations with the hon. Member about how we roll out its ambitious measures. ECO did not target those in fuel poverty successfully enough—we spent far too much on something that did not deliver the right results. Instead, the warm homes plan will provide £1.5 billion of additional capital support, targeted at people on low incomes. That is in addition to, for example, local authority grants, which target billions of pounds at low-income households. However, I am more than happy to have further conversations with the hon. Member when the warm homes plan is published.

[Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)]

12. What steps he is taking to create jobs in the energy sector in Yorkshire and the Humber.

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[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

T6. I am proud that Dudley is home to Brockmoor Energy and Environment Scheme, the first to be funded under the net zero neighbourhood programme by Richard Parker, the West Midlands Mayor. Will the Minister set out what further measures he is taking to improve energy efficiency, retrofit homes and upgrade energy infrastructure in Dudley, and whether he agrees that the scheme should be expanded?

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

My hon. Friend is right to highlight the work of the Brockmoor Energy and Environment Scheme. I met Richard Parker recently, and I hope to come and see some of these projects myself in the future. We will soon publish the warm homes plan, which will set out further plans to support such projects, but we have already allocated £1.8 billion to local authorities and social housing providers through the warm homes local grant, and the warm homes social housing fund.

[Mr Peter Bedford (Mid Leicestershire) (Con)]

T8.   Since the Government came to office, the average household energy bill has increased by £200, so the Government’s claim to be cutting bills by £150 rings somewhat hollow with my constituents. Will the Secretary of State commit to reviewing the green levies and taxes that continue to drive up energy prices for hard-working families?

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[Dr Beccy Cooper (Worthing West) (Lab)]

My hometown of Worthing is already delivering a major heat network, but it is not yet designated as a heat network zone. Could the Minister please consider making this designation at the earliest possible opportunity, and ensuring that grid capacity supports early designation for advanced schemes?

[Martin McCluskey]

Heat networks are crucial to future decarbonisation. I would be more than happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that in detail.

[Iqbal Mohamed (Dewsbury and Batley) (Ind)]

Pozitive Energy is a supplier to businesses in my constituency. It has provided inaccurate contracts and bills to customers, and has tried to bill them for premises that they do not occupy. It has disconnected customers from the electricity supply without notice, and fraudulently sent electricity bills for a meter that it disconnected. Now Pozitive Energy is demanding payment of the standing charge for a meter. Will the Secretary of State investigate rogue suppliers, and advise on how we will protect customers?

[Martin McCluskey]

If the hon. Member sends me the details, I would be more than happy to look into it. That would be a matter for Ofgem, but there is also recourse available through the Energy Ombudsman.

[Alistair Strathern (Hitchin) (Lab)]

I am delighted that we are investing in more rooftop solar. GB Energy supports the deployment of rooftop solar on schools and hospitals in my constituency, and the Government are taking up my proposal that it be a requirement to have it on all new housing, but how can we make sure that we are not missing out on the opportunity to use other rooftops, from those on car parks to those on commercial warehouses?

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[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

Bracknell Forest council has submitted a bid to the Heat Networks Delivery Unit for a feasibility study on a district heat network that would stretch across our town centre. Does the Minister agree that such schemes can support local businesses and residents in cutting emissions and bills?

[Martin McCluskey]

My hon. Friend will have heard me say earlier how important heat networks are to decarbonisation. They will play such an important role in providing energy across our country in future. I am more than happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that.

[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Reform)]

In November last year, the Energy Secretary and his entourage attended COP30 in Brazil. That was an event where a rainforest was chopped down so that the Energy Secretary could talk about saving rainforests. Does he understand the hypocrisy of it all?

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

Some 25% of the houses in my constituency were built before 1900. They are expensive to heat and very difficult to insulate. When will there be a bespoke plan for insulating those properties, using the right materials, and, crucially, for the insulation to be installed by specialists?

[Martin McCluskey]

I have had very constructive conversations with the hon. Member about this. The warm homes plan will be published soon, and we will have something to say in that.

[Andrew Lewin (Welwyn Hatfield) (Lab)]

Happy new year to you and your team, Mr Speaker. It was a happy start to the new year, because we learned that in 2025, more renewable energy was generated in this country than at any time on record. That was driven by growth in solar in particular. Will my right hon. Friend make it a new year’s resolution that the Government will continue to drive that growth forward, and will surpass that amount in 2026?