Oral Answers to Questions

Martin McCluskey Excerpts

Tuesday 10th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Warinder Juss (Wolverhampton West) (Lab)]

7. What estimate he has made of the potential impact of Great British Energy on energy bills for public services.

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

Great British Energy’s mission is to power Britain with clean, secure and home-grown energy. It has already started that work, with Great British Energy and the Government funding around 250 school and 260 hospital solar installations, including at Rakegate primary school and Ormiston NEW Academy in my hon. Friend’s constituency.

[Warinder Juss]

In my constituency, almost one in five households have been living in fuel poverty, struggling to heat their homes this winter. I welcome the Government’s commitment to lifting 1 million more households out of fuel poverty by 2030, which will have a significant impact on my constituents. Will the Minister please outline what other tangible changes my constituents can expect to see over the next year thanks to GB Energy, so that by the time we come to next winter they can feel comfortable that they can now afford to heat their homes?

[Martin McCluskey]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. I know that he is focused, as I am, on reducing energy bills for his constituents and people across the country. I have already spoken about the extensive investment in solar not just in his constituency but across the country. People in Wolverhampton and across the country will also be benefiting from our action to reduce energy costs by an average of £150 this April. That is in addition to continuing the warm home discount for nearly 6 million eligible households this year.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

There have been numerous references to the cost of energy and reducing that cost in the United Kingdom. Has any assessment been made by the Minister or the Department of the comments made by the International Energy Agency in the past few days, which seem to indicate we have one of the highest prices in the western world?

[Martin McCluskey]

I think where the IEA and I would agree is that we need to get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuels and ensure we are investing in clean home-grown energy that people across the country can take advantage of to lower their bills.

[Dame Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)]

8. What steps he is taking to support the green energy sector in the north-east.

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[Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)]

12. What steps he is taking to help reduce consumer energy prices in Scotland.

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

This Government’s actions mean lower bills for people across Scotland and lower levels of fuel poverty; in April, because of the Government’s actions, households across Scotland will see an average of £150 of costs removed from their energy bills. Just last week, we announced the extension of the warm home discount to 2031, meaning £92 million of support for some of the most vulnerable people across Scotland every year into the next decade.

[Dave Doogan]

The energy market in Scotland operates in surplus in both generation and transmission, whereas the energy market in England operates in shortage in both generation and transmission. Unfortunately, that means that in a GB energy market, Scotland gets sucked in to subsidising energy costs for English consumers. Over and above that, Energy UK has made it clear that there will be no meaningful reduction in energy bills until some indeterminate point in the 2030s. Will the Minister recommit—just before the Scottish elections—to energy bills in Scotland being £300 lower in 2029 than in 2024?

[Martin McCluskey]

Bills are coming down, and yes, I will recommit to that. [Interruption.] If the hon. Gentleman does not want to listen to me about the impact of our policies, he might look at the Scottish Government’s own modelling of the £150 off energy bills, which says that the number of people in fuel poverty in Scotland will reduce by 9% and the number in extreme fuel poverty will reduce by 12.5% this April. That is because of this Government’s actions, not because of anything the hon. Gentleman or his colleagues are doing.

[Torcuil Crichton (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (Lab)]

It was good to see you walking in today, Mr Speaker.

I welcome the publication of the local power plan, which will be keenly read in my constituency—the heart of the Atlantic—where communities are taking their share in the wealth of wind. To renew and expand community energy, we need to get connected to the grid. I welcome what the local power plan has to say about setting up tailored support for communities, but there must be priority support from Ofgem, the grid operators and this Government to ensure that communities benefit from the wealth of wind.

[Martin McCluskey]

I know that my hon. Friend is a real champion for local community power in Na h-Eileanan an Iar. I am sure my hon. Friend the Minister for Energy will have lots to say on the matter soon on his visit to the Western Isles.

[Sir Mark Hendrick (Preston) (Lab/Co-op)]

13. What estimate he has made of the potential impact of the contracts for difference clean industry bonus on the number of clean energy jobs.

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[Cat Eccles (Stourbridge) (Lab)]

14. What steps his Department is taking to help ensure the accuracy of small businesses’ energy bills.

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

One of the best ways to ensure accurate billing is by using a smart meter, which automatically records energy use in every half-hour period, allowing bills based on actual rather than estimated usage. That is why more than two thirds of non-domestic premises are already using a smart meter.

[Cat Eccles]

Small businesses across my constituency have been mis-sold commercial energy contracts by brokers. A business in Lye was recently locked into a three-year contract in which it found itself paying more than double the market rate. An independent café in the Merry Hill centre recently had to close due to the £1,500 a month in energy bills that it was forced to pay. Will the Government strengthen the law to protect small businesses against unscrupulous energy brokers and consider introducing a cap on business tariffs?

[Martin McCluskey]

I am sorry to hear about the experience of businesses in my hon. Friend’s constituency. The short answer to her question is yes, we will strengthen the law in this area. Rogue energy brokers have been allowed to use predatory sales tactics for too long to take advantage of customers. That is why, once parliamentary time allows, we will be introducing new measures to stamp out that exploitation.

[Mr Jonathan Brash (Hartlepool) (Lab)]

15. What recent progress he has made on developing alternative routes to market for new nuclear projects.

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

16. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the extension of the warm home discount on living standards.

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

I am proud that the Government have extended the warm home discount to an extra 2.7 million households, taking the total to around 6 million. Last week, we announced that the scheme would continue supporting households for a further five years to 2031. This will make a vital difference to so many families this winter, including an additional 190,000 households in Yorkshire and the Humber.

[Mr Charters]

I will never forget my mum renting a house in York with ancient heating, freezing rooms and an evil prepayment meter that drained her finances. In York, over a third of fuel-poor households rent privately. What is the Secretary of State doing to ensure that the warm home discount reaches them and ends the unfair penalty paid by many simply for renting?

[Martin McCluskey]

The experience that my hon. Friend outlines is still all too common in our country, and I know that he continues to raise this issue on behalf of all his constituents. The warm home discount is available to eligible private renting households on prepayment meters, and through the warm homes plan we are taking significant action to increase the minimum energy efficiency standards for the private rental sector, so that every private renter in my hon. Friend’s constituency and elsewhere benefits from a warm home that is cheaper to heat.

[Gregory Stafford (Farnham and Bordon) (Con)]

17. What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of energy infrastructure-related technologies imported from China on security.

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[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

T7. Much of Dorset is blessed with solid-wall, thatched cottages—you must visit, Mr Speaker. That includes our National Trust village of Shapwick, where Slate cottage sat empty for two years because it would cost £100,000 to bring it up to the minimum energy efficiency standards, and the National Trust just could not do it. It has now sold the cottage, which is a real loss to the community. What will the Minister do to help landlords such as the National Trust to resolve this problem?

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

We are working closely with heritage organisations to tackle precisely that problem. The hon. Lady will see in the warm homes plan that there is specific advise about retrofitting historic buildings. [Interruption.] Although they are not in her constituency, I will be visiting some projects soon.

[Lloyd Hatton (South Dorset) (Lab)]

Morwind recently received funding to conduct an important feasibility study for a major offshore wind hub at Portland. If built, the hub would be a key part of the west country’s manufacturing supply chain, and it would create hundreds of well-paid green jobs for local people. Will the Minister work with Morwind and me to deliver the hub at pace, and will he come to Portland to meet the key players and get the ball rolling?