Heating Oil Support

Debate between Martin McCluskey and Katrina Murray

Monday 16th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Martin McCluskey]

As the hon. Gentleman said, £3.8 million has been allocated to Wales. It will be for the Welsh Government to design the scheme that they will use to roll that out; it may be through existing schemes or through something different, but that is a decision for them. In all this, our priority has been to work at speed. We do not want to leave people in a situation without any support, which is why we have come forward with this proposal, just a few weeks after the initial stages of this conflict in the middle east. That is our priority. As I said, we will keep this issue under review, and we will come forward with more proposals if necessary.

[Katrina Murray (Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister’s statement. Some of the most vulnerable people in my constituency live in the village of Banton, which is not on the gas grid. However, the rest of my constituency would be considered urban. Will the Minister make representations to the Scottish Government so that they do not just look at rurality when deciding how they are going to allocate this funding?

[Martin McCluskey]

My hon. Friend makes an important point, which I will be sure to raise in future discussions with Scottish Government Ministers.