Oral Answers to Questions

Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts

Tuesday 17th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[David Pinto-Duschinsky (Hendon) (Lab)]

18. What steps he is taking to introduce a warm homes plan.

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

We are getting on with delivering our warm homes plan. We are set to upgrade up to 300,000 homes next year. We are introducing new standards in the private rented sector and the social rented sector that will lift 1 million people out of fuel poverty, and we are making it easier for people to install heat pumps by removing planning restrictions, expanding our boiler upgrade scheme so that more people can get a discount and boosting the heat pump industry.

[Amanda Hack]

Modelling suggests that one in four residents in North West Leicestershire is in fuel poverty. Does the Minister understand the frustration many constituents will feel that, despite being in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, fuel poverty has become so commonplace? Will she write to me with an outline of the elements in the warm homes plan that will focus on delivery for those in fuel poverty?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

I share the frustration of my hon. Friend’s constituents. The scale of fuel poverty in this country is a shameful legacy of the last Government’s 14 years of failure. It is a legacy that we are determined to turn around through our warm homes plan and our winter support package, and we will do everything we can to make sure that cold, draughty homes are a thing of the past.

[David Pinto-Duschinsky]

The last Government left us far too reliant on foreign dictators for our energy needs. I congratulate this Government on their focus on ending that dependence and making us energy independent. What steps is my hon. Friend taking to reduce bills for residents in my constituency and to further ensure that Britain remains genuinely energy independent?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

My hon. Friend is completely right. Too many people cannot afford their energy bills—[Interruption.] That is your legacy. That is why we are running to deliver clean energy by 2030 and rolling out our warm homes plan, so that we can upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run.

[Mr Speaker]

But it is not my legacy—do not worry.

[Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)]

The Secretary of State, the Minister for Energy and the Minister for Consumers have all said in this House that the National Energy System Operator’s report shows that the Government’s 2030 target will lower energy bills. However, the report itself explicitly says that it does not do so, and the chief executive officer of the NESO told the Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee last week that it “did not set out” to determine “what bills are for consumers.” Will the Minister explain those inconsistencies and take the opportunity to correct the record?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

I suggest that the hon. Lady actually reads the report. On page 77, the NESO sets out in black and white the system costs of a clean power system, and then what it calls

“Bill components resulting from clean power pathways”

and “Other bill changes”. The total impact in 2030 is to reduce electricity costs by £10 per megawatt-hour. Of course, as the NESO says, it is for the Government to make the policy choices to reduce energy bills—which we will—but it is absolutely clear that our clean power plan will reduce system costs.

[Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

Citizens Advice has found that more than a third of private tenants could not afford to heat their house to a comfortable temperature last winter, and in research published a month ago, it found that 80% of private landlords have no plans to invest in the energy efficiency of their properties in the next five years. Can the Minister explain what the Government will do to support and incentivise private landlords to drive up minimum energy efficiency standards in their properties, and when they will do it, so that tenants can stay warm all year round?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

We know that the quality of too many of our homes in the private rented sector is not high enough. That is why we are moving forward to introduce minimum energy efficiency standards, so that we can raise those standards, lifting 1 million people out of fuel poverty. We are running in order to get that done.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Pippa Heylings (South Cambridgeshire) (LD)]

After the Conservative Government’s failure to tackle insulation, fuel poverty is on the rise. In my constituency, almost 20% of households with young family members—those between five and 10 years—are fuel poor, living in cold, damp houses and choosing between eating and heating. While we await the warm homes plan that will deal with upgrading current housing stock, will the Minister meet the Minister for Housing and Planning to ensure that all future homes will come forward with an energy rating that is a minimum of C or higher, but not beyond 2025 for the future homes standard?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

We are working very closely with Housing, Communities and Local Government Ministers to deal with the future homes standard. We recognise that the fact we are building homes that are not up to the standard is a problem, and we are getting on with fixing it.

[Mr Alex Barros-Curtis (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

8. What steps he is taking to improve energy security.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

T6. More than half the homes in my constituency have an energy performance rating of D or worse, and a quarter are off-grid, relying on more expensive fuels, so I welcome this Government’s commitment to a warm homes plan. However, with a lot of rural homes poorly insulated and not suited to heat pumps, will the Secretary of State work with me on a tailored plan for colder, stone-built rural homes?

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

We are rolling out our warm homes plan, which we want every household to benefit from, and we will ensure that we have the right solution for the right homes. I will work with my hon. Friend and with Members from across the House on solutions that every household can benefit from, to ensure that we have warmer homes that are cheaper to run.

[Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)]

T4. The spill of fuel oil in the Black sea from Russian tankers is yet another tragic reminder of the work that Russia is doing to subvert our sanctions. What is the Secretary of State’s assessment of the amount of petrochemical products and their derivatives entering our economy from Russia today?

--- Later in debate ---

[Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)]

More than 24,000 homes in my constituency have an energy performance certificate banding of D or worse, which means 50,000 tonnes of avoidable carbon dioxide emissions and higher energy bills for my constituents. However, the rate of insulation upgrades is too slow for us to meet the Government’s goal of universal band C ratings by 2035. Will the Minister commit herself with more urgency to an emergency home insulation programme with targeted support for those on low incomes?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

We recognise that not enough was done to upgrade homes over the last 15 years, which is why we are absolutely running at this. We will upgrade up to 300,000 homes this year, and we are putting in place our plan to drive up standards in the private rented sector, and to ensure that as many households as possible benefit from homes that are warmer and much, much cheaper to run.

[Amanda Hack (North West Leicestershire) (Lab)]

T10. In my constituency, there has been strong growth in the purchase of electric vehicles, but we have only half as many public charging points per person as the national average. How can we secure more charging points in public spaces in rural communities?

--- Later in debate ---

[Richard Fuller (North Bedfordshire) (Con)]

This weekend, 50 households in Cleat Hill were able to return home, nine weeks after the gas explosion there. That was thanks to the efforts of the local council and the local emergency services but not, I am afraid, to the actions of the Government. There has been a deafening silence on whether they will help the council with funding, and whether they will fund a scaling and scoping of the gas reservoir. I am extremely grateful to the Minister for meeting me, but will she chivvy her other Ministers along, so that we can get a reply?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

I thank the hon. Member for that meeting. We are working across Government to ensure that we can provide the support that the community requires after that tragic incident.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

I recently visited the zero-emission boiler manufacturer Tepeo in Wokingham. Its owners were thrilled by the Government’s decision that heat batteries can qualify for the warm homes social housing fund wave 3, but expressed concern about whether they could scale up without the same subsidy support and VAT relief as heat pumps. Will the Minister meet me, and representatives of Thermal Storage UK, to discuss how we can support heat batteries, so that households can become more resilient?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

My hon. Friend is a great champion of our clean power mission, and I would be very happy to meet him and representatives of the sector.

[Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham) (LD)]

Seventy-five per cent of voters think that all new homes should come with solar panels on the roof as standard. Do the Government agree?