Oral Answers to Questions

Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)]

6. What recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing energy social tariffs.

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

We know that people are worried about their energy bills going into the winter and that, for a growing number of people, energy is simply unaffordable. We are absolutely determined to take this affordability issue and tackle it head on. There are many different ideas about what a social tariff could look like, and it means different things to different people. We are clear that we will tackle the affordability question and look at the full range of options available to us. But our priority—my priority—this winter is to ensure that families struggling with bills have support through our warm home discount scheme, and to work with energy suppliers to provide support.

[Debbie Abrahams]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her response. I absolutely recognise that energy prices over the last few years have escalated, putting particular pressure on households with low incomes and also those with high energy needs, such as disabled people and pensioners. I agree that the warm home discount scheme is valuable, but it is limited and I am concerned for people with high energy needs but on low incomes, who might fall foul of the system as it stands.

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

We have been working flat out with energy suppliers to ensure that they are providing additional support to families who will struggle with bills this winter. In August, I met all the suppliers, and there was a shared commitment to do everything we can to support vulnerable households. We have been working with them, the industry body, Ofgem and Citizens Advice to ensure that there is a proper package of support in place this winter so that we can support families who we know are struggling with their bills.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Would it not have been better to put that proper package of support in place before the Government withdrew the winter fuel allowance from so many pensioners?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

We are having to clean up the mess that the Opposition left us. Yes, we have means-tested the winter fuel payment, but we have also been clear that we will do everything we can do to support vulnerable households. That is why we have extended the take-up of pension credit and the household support fund, and we are working flat out with energy suppliers to provide additional support to all vulnerable households this winter.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank the Minister for her work. Warm home prescriptions can target that support towards elderly people and those with underlying health conditions, saving our NHS as well as keeping people warm over the winter. The pilot has shown real benefit. Will she meet me to discuss that and other options to keep old people warm this winter?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

We want to work with anyone who will help us reach vulnerable households. I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend to look at the full range of options available.

[Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)]

Ofgem’s review of standing charges options paper closed for submissions on 20 September. Can the Minister offer any hope for bill payers in Scotland that they will stop being penalised with the highest standing charges on these islands? When will we see lower charges?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

We as a Government are committed to getting down standing charges. Ofgem has consulted and will report back in due course.

[Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)]

7. What steps he is taking to introduce his warm homes plan.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

19. What steps he is taking to introduce his warm homes plan.

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

We are running to deliver our warm homes plan, which will upgrade homes across the country to make them warmer and cheaper to run. We will set out the full plan in the spring, but at the heart of it will be an offer of grants and low-interest loans to support families to invest in insulation, low-carbon heating and home improvements. Critically, alongside that, we are committing to boosting minimum energy efficiency standards for private rented homes and social housing, to tackle fuel poverty.

[Joe Morris]

I thank the Minister for her answer and for her commitment to the warm homes plan. I congratulate her on the announcement over the conference recess to end the scandal of cold, draughty homes in the rental sector, which particularly affects people in my constituency in towns such as Haltwhistle, Throckley, Newburn, Hexham and elsewhere. Does she agree that often the very poorest in our communities are forced to live in those cold and draughty properties, and it is important that we cut bills and give those families energy security?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

I agree. One in four households in the private rented sector is in fuel poverty. We need to bear down on bills. Our commitment to improve and boost minimum energy efficiency standards will lift 1 million renters out of fuel poverty. We are determined to do this alongside our bigger package to deliver clean power by 2030, which will drive down bills for everyone.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith]

People across my constituency are worried about how they will afford to heat their homes this winter. I was shocked to hear the former Energy Minister, now shadow Minister, admit that his Government should have gone “further and faster” on insulating homes, which will certainly help. Does the Minister agree that this is an admission of failure by the previous Conservative Government, who have left working people to pay the price? Can she reassure my constituents that this Government will do better?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

I completely agree. The legacy left to us by the last Government was woeful. Ordinary people—families across the country—have paid the price of that legacy. We are clear that we will do and must do better. Our warm homes plan will kickstart the upgrades that we need across the country so that we can deliver warmer homes that are cleaner to heat.

[Dr Huq]

Millions of cold, draughty homes need updating UK-wide, so it is great to hear that there will be a proper plan, rather than the itty-bitty approach of spraying bits of money here and there. In the plan, will the Minister look at the fact that there is no national retrofit advice service in the UK? Can the Government rectify that? They could take a leaf out of Sadiq Khan’s book, because his service in London has helped 24,000 households.

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

I agree with my hon. Friend. There is a critical role for national advice to ensure that people can access support and know the range of interventions available to them. We will be looking at that as we look at our warm homes plan. We are very clear that it will be a comprehensive plan that will deliver the upgrades we need to see across the country.

[Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

One of my low-income pensioner constituents had a solar panel installed on their home through a Government scheme. However, they are now facing an issue with birds nesting in it, which is causing a huge amount of problems because the scheme does not come with protection. Will the Minister agree to meet me about this constituency issue, because it is really affecting one of my older constituents who, sadly, has also just lost her winter fuel payment?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

Yes, I will agree to meet to discuss the range of things we can do.

[Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

I very much hope the Secretary of State and his Ministers agree that if we are serious about energy security and net zero, we must be serious about energy efficiency. What steps are they taking, in addition to working on insulating existing homes, to ensure that the promised 1.5 million new homes are built to net zero standards, have solar panels on the roof, and are fully insulated so that every new home is a warm home?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

We have an ambitious plan to build more homes. We want those homes to be fit for the future. We will put out information in due course on the standards we want across those homes, but we have an opportunity to do insulation, energy efficiency and homes that are fit for the future, at the same time as building the homes we need.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

Local authorities play an important role as trusted sources of knowledge and expertise, and guide householders, for example, to trusted installers, but they need the resources to do that. Will the Department devolve some resources to local authorities to fulfil that important role?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

We see local and regional government playing an absolutely fundamental role to reach homes that we need to upgrade, but also to help us deliver the scale of ambition we want. Local and regional government will be a key part of our warm homes plan.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Pippa Heylings (South Cambridgeshire) (LD)]

Keeping vulnerable people warm and lowering their energy bills is, I am sure, something we can all agree on across the House. Insulating homes is a key part of that puzzle. We welcome the news that we will see the warm homes plan in spring. However, does the Minister agree that ahead of this winter we need an emergency home insulation plan, particularly for the vulnerable, along with allocated funding? Does she have any idea of the amount and allocation of funding in this Parliament that there will be for insulating homes?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

We are really clear that as we develop our plans we absolutely need to get on with the job of upgrading homes. We have announced our warm homes local grant and our warm homes social housing fund, which are targeted at low-income families, because we know there is a job of work to do. We are committed to an additional £6.6 billion to invest in our warm homes plan over the course of this Parliament.

[Carla Denyer (Bristol Central) (Green)]

10. What steps he is taking to ensure a just transition for workers in high-carbon sectors.

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[Alistair Strathern (Hitchin) (Lab)]

T4. The previous Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has admitted that the last Government could have gone further and faster on insulating homes, but said that he would wait to see how the new Government tackle the issue. When it comes to insulating millions more homes across the country and reducing bills for millions of families, will we simply take a “wait and see” approach?

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

Whether it is our ending of the onshore wind ban, the CCUS funding we announced last week, our plans for Great British Energy or our warm homes plan, we are hitting the ground running to deliver our clean power mission. The Conservatives spent 14 years dithering and delaying, leaving ordinary people to pay the price, but we will get on with the job of delivering energy security so that we can secure financial security for families, good jobs and climate action.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

T6. To achieve net zero, we will need widespread micro-generation alongside large-scale projects. However, as a local farmer who wanted to install an anaerobic digester told me, grid connections are both costly and subject to long delays. What does the Secretary of State plan to do to address these issues, particularly in rural areas such as my Thornbury and Yate constituency?

--- Later in debate ---

[Oliver Ryan (Burnley) (Lab/Co-op)]

The warm homes plan is excellent and much needed in towns such as mine, but on warm homes grants for insulation, during recess I met a large number of constituents who had been victims of failed insulation and cowboy workmanship under such Government schemes. Some are living in horrific conditions with useless warranties. Is the Minister aware of their plight? Will she ensure that regulation is strong enough, and will she meet me and victims to make sure that this never happens again?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. We are aware of those cases of bad insulation and we are clear that we need to get a firmer grip on them. To persuade everyone that we should be insulating and upgrading all of our homes, we need the highest standard possible. I agree to meet him to discuss this matter further.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

In my constituency, a new solar farm at Barkham is being delivered that will provide clean energy for more than 4,000 homes and provide a funding boost for Wokingham borough council. It will be connected in 2026, but there were concerns that connection to the grid could be delayed by 11 years. What steps will the Minister take to reduce similar delays, and does he think that the Government can meet their net zero targets if the new renewable energy infrastructure cannot be quickly connected to the grid?