Oral Answers to Questions
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(1 day, 11 hours ago)
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David Pinto-Duschinsky (Hendon) (Lab)
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.
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.
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)
Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)
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)
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)
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?
Spray Foam Insulation: Property Value
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(1 week, 5 days ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
Let me start by thanking the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon) for bringing this important issue to the attention of the House and highlighting the stories of his constituents.
This Government are committed to ensuring that all energy efficiency installations are done to the highest standards, and that proper consumer protection and redress are built into the system. That matters because building and maintaining consumer confidence and trust are critical to our delivering our warm homes plan and upgrading millions of homes across the country. We will do everything that we can to ensure that the system works for consumers. This is therefore a very important and a timely debate.
We understand the frustration and the difficulties that some homeowners with spray foam loft insulation have experienced when obtaining finance. This problem followed the publication of now-withdrawn guidance from a surveyors association in December 2021. The guidance said that surveyors could not comment on the condition of timber roof structures, or properly assess the risks once installed, given the nature of the product.
In response to the problems that some homeowners were having when obtaining finance, under the previous Government, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government worked with industry to publish several documents in 2023. These included a consumer guide, a code of practice for installers and an inspection protocol, alongside training for surveyors.
The Building Safety Regulator also completed research to understand moisture risk factors, which indicated that the risk is low if the relevant British standards are followed. Crucially, the inspection protocol now enables a surveyor to determine whether an installation was done properly and, therefore, to determine the risk level. This means decisions on mortgage products should be made on a case-by-case basis, and there should not be a blanket exclusion on mortgages.
I understand that progress is being made and, while some lenders will want to follow the advice of surveyors, most no longer have a blanket policy against lending where there is spray foam insulation. We are aware that just over 6,000 pitched roof insulation measures were installed using a voucher from the previous Government’s green homes grant voucher scheme, and some of these installations may have used spray foam products.
If products have been installed to the standard required under the scheme, we do not expect them to be removed. We expect that they are doing the work and are effective in the home. A surveyor should be able to use the available inspection protocol to make the proper assessment. Where the measure has not been installed correctly, however, homeowners should contact their installer or use the TrustMark dispute resolution process to seek redress. If the installer is no longer trading, the homeowner should contact the guarantee provider. The details of this should be in the paperwork they were given at the point of installation, or they will be available from TrustMark.
Although the system is working, we know that it is not working in too many cases and that people are falling between the cracks. We know that the standards and accreditation processes for Government schemes are too complex, and that accountability structures are not always clear. I am new to my role, but I am the first to admit that there is a job to do to improve the system so that, when problems occur, consumers get the right advice and redress without having to bang their head against the wall to get it. The Government are determined to address this.
The Government’s ambitious warm home plans will upgrade millions of homes across the country to make them warmer and cheaper to run, from installing new insulation to rolling out solar panels and heat pumps. We will review the consumer protection framework as part of this plan, ensuring clear lines of accountability and clear and easy redress mechanisms so that consumers can trust the system.
The plan will also outline the further action we intend to take to drive up quality and standards, and to support the supply chain to grow in size and competence. This will include investing in training and supporting trusted small businesses that work in the community to join the supply chain.
We understand that the hon. Gentleman’s constituents, and constituents across the country, face this issue, and we are looking into it to understand the size of the problem and what we can do in response. More fundamentally, people should be in no doubt that we are committed to building consumer protection and trust, because that is the only way we can take the country on the journey as we try to upgrade millions of homes.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the profile of this issue, for raising the stories of his constituents and the difficulties they have faced, and for giving us the opportunity to highlight the avenues that are available for affected consumers.
Question put and agreed to.
End of Radio Teleswitch Service: Rural Areas
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(2 weeks ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
I thank the hon. Member for Angus and Perthshire Glens (Dave Doogan) for bringing this important issue to the attention of the House. As I will set out later, it is important that people who will be affected by the transition are aware of the issue and the steps we need to take to upgrade. I reassure him that we are doing everything we can to ensure that the transition is done with consumers in mind, and that it works for the households we know will be affected.
Since the 1980s, the radio teleswitch service has played an important role in helping many consumers to have lower-cost energy for heating and hot water. However, as has been acknowledged, the technology is coming to the end of its life. The continuation of the BBC’s longwave radio signal is due to end on 1 June 2025. We have already extended the service once, from March this year. When the service ends, as has already been pointed out, there will no longer be the availability to switch between rates. In some instances, consumers may lose control of their heating or hot water. With the deadline fast approaching, I cannot stress enough that this is a big issue for us. It is a priority and we understand that there is a job of work to do to ensure that we can deliver the transition for consumers.
Mr Carmichael
The Minister is absolutely right. I raised that with the former Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s questions earlier this year, and he agreed to convene a roundtable where we got everybody in the room, because there had just been too much blame-passing around the various partners. That meeting got overtaken by the election, but it happened without parliamentarians at the table. Will the Minister now look at the possibility of reconvening that meeting with parliamentarians so that there is that element of accountability at the table?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
Yes, I am very keen to reconvene that. It is absolutely essential that we work with hon. Members across the House who represent constituencies that we know will be affected. From our perspective, we have a big job to engage consumers to ensure that they are aware and that the transition is working. We are keen to work across the House to do that.
One of the outcomes of the roundtable that was put in place was that the taskforce has been established—with Ofgem, industry and the Government—to manage the transition and to put and inject the urgency that we need to see in the ongoing process. In October, the industry signed up to a call to action, representing a collective agreement to take the steps needed to speed the transition away from RTS. Specific actions that were included in that call for action are: targeting of resources towards regional hotspots where we know there are a high number of RTS customers and we know that we need to do work to reach them; fast-tracking of meter upgrades for RTS customers and, in particular, vulnerable customers who we are very worried about; and collaboration on some of the technical solutions that we know are needed.
We are clear that the delivery of the transition away from RTS requires active engagement with consumers, as they will need to agree to appointments, collaborate with their installers and ensure that they have the right solutions in place.
Dave Doogan
Does the Minister agree that there needs to be a change of tone and language? It is all very well for the Government, the regulator or the companies to feel the urgency, but if customers do not sense that, we will not get the pace that is required. She talks about how it is a big job, and we can all agree on that. It is a big job that needs to be completed in very little time, so it is not just about the scale but about the pace. If we cannot get customers energised and exercised about the need to get that done, that pace will not happen.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I completely agree with the hon. Member. We have said to suppliers that they must inform all affected customers by 31 December to make sure that we are injecting that sense of urgency, both within the supply chain and, critically, among customers. There is a collective job for us all to make sure that those who are affected are aware that this is happening. That is why this debate is so important. That is why I am keen to engage with Members from across the House to ensure that we are getting that message out to constituents.
Critically, the taskforce has been asked to establish working partnerships with local authorities, housing providers and other customer-facing organisations, so that we can get the word out that this is happening, that customers need to engage and that they must get in touch with their suppliers so we can provide the best possible options for them as we move forward.
Graham Leadbitter
My experience is that the energy company has been in touch with me. The tone of the emails has been quite pushy, which is what we are talking about, in that they need to be pushing quite hard on customers to make that change and get the right meter in place. However, when I have subsequently been in touch with them—I do not have a smart meter yet; it is coming in January—the first time there were no appointments and they were unable to answer that simple question of whether it will be cheaper. I cannot stress enough how much I have had to push them to get that answer out of them.
I am not a vulnerable customer; I understand why this is happening, like everybody else in the Chamber. Vulnerable customers, however, may just accept that. There is a sense of urgency that needs to be injected, but it needs to come with a note of caution about how it is injected and how it is communicated, and it needs to make sure that customers understand how much they are likely to be paying. There also needs to be a transitional arrangement so that if somebody gets the wrong tariff, they are not penalised for that and it can be changed.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank the hon. Member for raising his personal experience of the issue. From the perspective of the Government, it is very important that we have sight of where it is not working, because we need to ensure that it is working for consumers. There is a question about capacity that we are very exercised about. We are trying to work with suppliers to ensure, particularly in rural areas, that we are putting in roaming teams and building the capacity to be able to respond in a way that is timely, and sensitive to the fact that we are asking consumers to make a transition and go through disruption.
Smart meters are the natural upgrade for RTS, and we have energy suppliers that will be offering them. If we get this right, smart meters are an opportunity to upgrade people’s homes, and critically, for them to access smart tariffs that will give them greater control and reduce bills. I urge consumers to discuss the options with their energy suppliers. I acknowledge that, particularly in rural areas where we have large numbers of RTS users, we have lower levels of smart meter coverage and installer capacity. To address that, we are actively encouraging energy suppliers to ensure that they are building capacity. We are looking at roaming teams, and how we manage demand across different geographies. We know that there are issues with network coverage, and we are working with the data communications company to ensure that we are resolving them. In a minority of cases where households cannot connect, we are advising them to engage with their energy suppliers to think about the right solutions for their home.
It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge that customers have genuine concerns and scepticism about smart meters; we have received that intelligence as much as other hon. Members have across the House. It is worth saying that there are 37 million smart and advanced meters in homes and small businesses across the country—65% of all smart meters. Our analysis and data suggest that 90% of smart meters are sending automatic signals and working, but for too many customers the experience of smart metering is not as good as it ought to be.
The number of meters that are not working across the country is problematic, and we are trying to build confidence. There is a really important job for us to do in working with the regulator to deal with those particular issues. The Government are working with Ofgem to introduce new guaranteed standards of performance to improve and protect consumer experience with smart meters, offering compensation when the system is falling short for consumers. Ofgem will be consulting to introduce those new standards in the new year.
Let me end by touching on the wider point about public confidence, which is key to us getting this transition right. I acknowledge that some consumers have lost faith in the energy suppliers, and the levels of satisfaction have damaged consumer confidence. We hear that when we engage with customers. We absolutely must and are trying to do more to prioritise and protect consumers in the transition, both with RTS and more widely on home upgrades and our warm homes plan. That is why the Government are strengthening the regulator to ensure that it can hold companies to account for wrongdoing and can require higher standards of performance, as well as ensuring that there is automatic consumer compensation where failures occur.
There is a lot to do, but I hope I have reassured the House that we are aware of the challenge and are doing everything we can to grip the problem and to get the regulator and suppliers to work with partners on the ground to make the transition as smooth as possible.
I again thank the hon. Member for Angus and Perthshire Glens for raising the profile of this important issue and highlighting the needs of all communities. We have to get this right, and I confirm my desire to work in concert with hon. Members across the House to make this as easy for constituents as possible.
Question put and agreed to.
Draft Contracts for Difference (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2024
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(2 weeks, 1 day ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Contracts for Difference (Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2024.
These draft regulations were laid before the House on 20 October 2024. Last week, the Secretary of State updated the House on COP29 and reiterated what we already knew—that speeding up our transition to clean power is in our national interest. It is the best way to bolster our energy security, getting us off the rollercoaster of fossil fuels, which we do not control. It is the best way to spark economic growth across the country, with hundreds of thousands of new jobs, particularly in our industrial heartlands, and to tackle the climate crisis for today’s and future generations. That is why this Government are running at our clean power by 2030 mission, and this instrument will contribute towards that march.
The contracts for difference scheme is the Government’s main mechanism for supporting new low-carbon electricity generation. CfDs are awarded through annual competitive auctions, with the lowest-priced bids successful. The sixth CfD allocation round, which ran earlier this year, was the largest round ever—more than double the size of last year’s round under the last Government. It awarded contracts to 128 clean energy projects across Great Britain, capturing 9.6 GW of renewable capacity and generating enough electricity to power the equivalent of 11 million homes.
However, we must continue to build on that success, which means continually evolving the contracts for difference scheme to ensure that it reflects the global challenges and opportunities in the renewables sector. Building on AR6, we plan to update the scheme using this instrument to continue our march to clean power by 2030. First, we propose to extend the option of phased CfDs to floating offshore wind projects and, secondly, to enable repowered onshore wind projects to apply for CfDs.
On the first point, the Government have committed to radically increase the UK’s offshore wind capacity, including floating offshore wind. As an emerging technology with less than 250 MW of capacity deployed worldwide, the floating offshore wind construction process is yet to be industrialised. Floating wind projects are likely to have a slower buildout rate, in part because of things such as capacity in ports and weather conditions. Phasing in the CfD allows projects to build in multiple stages. It allows for greater flexibility in the construction phase, enabling delivery to more realistic timelines and providing more certainty and confidence to investors. In turn, the reduction in project costs increases investor confidence in the UK’s growing floating offshore wind sector, unlocking the potential for us to massively expand.
On the second point, of enabling repowering for onshore wind, our analysis shows that approximately 1 GW of onshore wind is coming to the end of its operating life between 2027 and 2030. Repowering can help ensure that renewable generation capacity is not lost from older projects. It also provides an opportunity to increase the renewable generation capacity of existing sites through improvements in technology and more efficient use of sites. Enabling access to CfDs for repowered onshore wind projects offers revenue certainty for those projects in order to maintain and boost our capacity.
The CfD scheme did not previously have a policy on repowering built into it; these regulations will ensure that we do, to ensure that eligible generation capacity can apply for CfDs. In designing this policy, we are ensuring that we balance our objectives around decarbonisation, consumer value for money and security of supply by enabling repowering only for projects that both align with the fundamental aims of our CfD programme and, critically, have reached the end of their life and their operating life.
Our approach, and the approach that we are taking to everything we do as we make our march to clean power by 2030, will always ensure that we are protecting consumers, by intervening only when and where needed and where it is cost-effective to do so.
Before I conclude, let me say a word about the consultation process through which we sought views and evidence around the changes proposed for allocation round 7. We received a range of responses from across industry, including from developers, electricity traders and suppliers, businesses operating in the offshore wind sector, and consumer environmental groups. Most respondents agreed with implementing the phasing of floating offshore and repowering for onshore wind. Respondents also provided input into how we can implement these policies in the best way. The Department, as would be expected, will continue to engage with stakeholders in industry.
Let me end here. The instrument today is another important step towards delivering our clean power mission, shielding families from volatile fossil fuel prices that we know have been a result of the cost of living crisis that we face and establishing the UK as a clean energy superpower. It builds on the existing success of the CfD programme, but allows it to evolve to reflect the realities of the global market. Critically, we believe this is a step in ensuring that we can protect consumers and reduce bills.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
Let me respond directly to the question on bills. We are as exercised by and committed to protecting consumers through the transition to net zero. I say this is as the Minister for Energy whose job it is to protect consumers. Our judgment is that we have seen sky-high energy prices as a result of our dependence on international fossil fuel markets. Families at the moment are suffering the impacts of that reliance. The way that we break that is to break the dependence on fossil fuels and make the transition to clean power. All our analysis suggests that if we get this right, combined with interventions on energy efficiency and upgrading people’s homes, we will bear down on bills.
The status quo is not tenable—if you speak to any consumer, they will tell you that. We have made a strategic bet that if we can run clean power and break the link with gas and the dependence on fossil fuel, we will bear down on prices. The National Energy System Operator put out its publication on clean power and validated that. This approach will reduce costs in the system and, critically, bear down on bills. Consumers are at the heart of this transition for us. We are not doing this for ideological reasons. The status quo of people’s energy bills and their affordability is not something that we are willing to countenance. It is something that the last Government were willing to put up with, but we absolutely will not. That is why we are making the march to clean power by 2030.
Question put and agreed to.
Warm Homes Plan
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(3 weeks, 6 days ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
The Government were elected on a promise to deliver warmer homes with lower energy bills for families across the country. Decent homes are the foundation of decent lives, and our warm homes plan is driven by a simple principle: every household deserves the security of a home they can afford to heat.
Today, I am pleased to confirm funding for the warm homes plan that means that next year more homes will benefit from upgrades to make them more energy efficient and cheaper to run—more than double the number of upgrades delivered last year. Next year will see a total investment of £3.2 billion from Government, social housing providers and obligations on suppliers.
As part of the changes we are announcing today, more households will now be able to install an air source heat pump without the need to submit a planning application. The Government are removing the rule requiring heat pumps to be installed at least one metre away from a property’s boundary, which was an outdated regulation that prevented thousands of installations.
In addition, the Government are increasing direct grant support for heat pumps through the boiler upgrade scheme, adding £30 million for the rest of this financial year and doubling the budget for the next financial year to £295 million. We are also setting out plans to consult on further increases to energy efficiency standards for both new heat pumps and new boilers, helping households save money off their bills.
We recognise that support for the supply chain will be critical to deliver the warm homes plan. That is why we will be providing investment in home-grown heat pump production through the heat pump investment accelerator competition, and stimulating further investment in the supply chain through the introduction of a reformed clean heat market mechanism, for which we are laying a statutory instrument today. Ministers have been engaging closely with industry on a shared vision for the transition to cleaner, cheaper heating and look forward to continuing that constructive dialogue and partnership during the further development and delivery of the warm homes plan.
Over the coming months, I look forward to building on the announcements made today and publishing our warm homes plan in full. This will detail our new approach to delivering warmer homes with lower energy bills, tackling the fuel poverty currently experienced by too many people, and creating new opportunities for jobs, skills, and investment right across the country.
[HCWS240]
Oral Answers to Questions
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(1 month ago)
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Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
We are committed to an ambitious warm homes plan, which will upgrade homes across the country, making them warmer and cheaper to run, by installing new insulation and rolling out low carbon heating such as solar and heat pumps. As a first step, the Government have committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next three years towards upgrading homes. We have already hit the ground running with the roll out of our warm homes local grant, and our warm homes social housing fund. We will set out more details in due course.
Peter Swallow
Too many of my constituents are living in poorly insulated social housing. New mother Dionne, for instance, had the insulation from her flat removed last year by her social landlord because it was full of mould and mildew. She is now facing her second winter without insulation. Will the Minister confirm that the warm homes plan will introduce tough new standards to ensure that social housing providers get on and insulate their housing stock?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
Yes, absolutely. Raising standards in the social housing sector will be a critical part of our warm homes plan. We have already announced plans to lift 1 million renters out of fuel poverty by raising the minimum energy efficiency standard in both the private and the social-rented sector, which will ensure that renters no longer have to live in cold, drafty homes. We will also unlock £1 billion-worth of investment to the national wealth fund in partnership with leading banks to upgrade more social homes, and we will set out more detail to build on that in due course.
Sadik Al-Hassan
I thank the Minister for her commitment to the warm homes plan. Many of my constituents in North Somerset have written to me in recent weeks, detailing their concerns that the scheme does not take sufficient account of higher energy usage due to long-term illnesses. Will the Minister share whether the Department has any plans to look into uplifting the warm home discount for participants with relevant long-term illnesses?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We recognise that many vulnerable people, including those with high energy usage, often bear the greatest burden when energy prices increase. That is why we are doing all we can, including by working with energy companies, to make sure that we are providing additional support this winter and beyond. I will take my hon. Friend’s point away and follow up with him in due course.
Anna Dixon
Given that 64% of homes in Shipley have an energy performance certificate rating of D or below, I very much welcome the Government’s commitment to the warm homes plan. The charity Groundwork provides a “warm homes healthy people” scheme across Bradford district, installing energy-efficiency measures, and offering advice and support on energy bills. Does the Minister agree that local charities need support to continue to help those who are most in need this winter?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
It is a national scandal that so many homes across the country have an EPC rating that is below C—a failure of the last Government to deliver the scale of home upgrades that we need. We are determined to end the injustice of people living in cold and draughty homes. I completely agree that we must do everything we can to support vulnerable households with their energy bills this winter. That is why we are providing 3.3 million households with the warm home discount, why we are working with energy suppliers to provide additional support, including through charities, and why we have extended the household support fund.
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)
Does the Minister agree that we particularly need a comprehensive warm homes plan in rural areas in order to identify very old homes and ensure that insulation is targeted to maximise reduction in their energy usage?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We will ensure that we see upgrades in every part of the country; we will be working with combined authorities, local government and the devolved Administrations to make sure that we are delivering the scale of upgrades needed across the country.
Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)
In the light of the warm homes plan, is the Minister aware of challenges faced by homeowners who used the green homes grant for spray foam insulation? Many now find their homes unmortgageable, and face significant costs for removal and repair. Will the Minister consider measures to support such homeowners as part of the warm homes plan?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I am aware that many households have had upgrades that have not gone to plan. It is critical that we build confidence, because in the end we need to persuade consumers up and down the country to have these upgrades. There were schemes under the last Administration that were not regulated and did not have the correct standards, and we are working hard to make sure that we raise standards across the piece.
Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)
We are going to need a warm homes plan, because with the snow and ice coming in on a cold front, Scotland is seeing a “sum front” heading north from this Labour Government: a £600 cut to the winter fuel payment and the pensioners’ cost of living payment—for winter weather that is here now. That was not in the manifesto. What was in the manifesto was a £300 cut to fuel bills, but those costs are now up by £450. When will this Government do a single thing for people facing fuel poverty?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We will work across the country to tackle fuel poverty, but I remind the hon. Member that fuel payments are devolved. The Scottish Government have been given the biggest budget, and it is time to get on with the job and fix the situation.
Pippa Heylings (South Cambridgeshire) (LD)
Homes in the UK are among the least energy-efficient in Europe, with unparalleled health, productivity and carbon emission costs to society, as a result of the last Government’s failure to act. I agree with the Minister: it is a disgrace that this is happening in one of the largest economies in the G7. We welcome the news of the warm homes plan coming next year, but does the Minister agree that an emergency home insulation programme this winter, with free insulation for people on low incomes, is necessary so that people in South Cambridgeshire do not have to face the choice between heating and eating?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
Let me assure the hon. Member that we are hitting the ground running with home insulations. We are rolling out our warm homes local grant and our warm homes social housing fund, to target people this winter—this year—because we need to deliver the biggest ever upgrade.
Shaun Davies (Telford) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
As the first step towards the warm homes plan, we have committed an initial £3.4 billion. That includes £1 billion towards public sector decarbonisation, because we know that we have to ensure that our schools and hospitals reduce their energy bills.
Shaun Davies
Decarbonising the public sector is good for our net zero target, but it also releases money for more teachers, nurses and street cleaners, so that savings benefit our communities rather than energy giants. Schools across Telford are crying out for that investment. Will the Minister do all she can to decarbonise the public sector in the years to come?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I completely agree; decarbonising our public sector will not only reduce emissions but lower bills. We estimate that the £1 billion that we have allocated to public sector decarbonisation will reduce bills by about £40 million per year. That is a big step forward, but there is more work to do.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
It is clear that there is a role for all schools across this great United Kingdom to play in public sector decarbonisation. They also have a role in educating the children in their classrooms, who we want to be the pioneers of tomorrow. What has been done to ensure that the good things that happen on the mainland of the United Kingdom are shared with regional Administrations such as the Northern Ireland Assembly?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We will work on that with the devolved Administrations across the United Kingdom. Good practice is happening across local government and regional government. We will ensure that everyone can learn from it, and we will deliver the biggest upgrade in a generation.
Joani Reid (East Kilbride and Strathaven) (Lab)
Richard Fuller (North Bedfordshire) (Con)
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for permitting me to raise this important constituency matter from the Back Benches. On 2 July this year, during the installation of a ground source heat pump in a constituent’s back garden, a gas field was struck and gas was released. On 19 October there was an explosion, which resulted in the deaths of two of my constituents and the continuing evacuation of 50 households. Matters related to the period between 2 July and 19 October are subject to investigation. I am advised that this is the first such instance of gas being encountered, but given that ground source heat pumps are expected to play a significant role in decarbonising home heating, will the Minister undertake to review the regulations covering the installation of ground source heat pumps, and will she arrange a meeting for me with the relevant Minister to discuss these matters further?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
I am sorry to hear about the incident that the hon. Gentleman has raised. We absolutely need to ensure, as we roll out all low-carbon technology, that standards are at the highest level. I undertake to meet him to understand the specific circumstances and see what we can do in terms of reviewing regulation.
Adam Thompson (Erewash) (Lab)
Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
Many homes in my constituency are off grid, which means that their owners have to fill up the tank at the beginning of winter to keep warm. The pensioners who have lost the winter fuel payment are struggling with that up-front amount. Will the Minister review the level at which the winter fuel payment is removed, because the most vulnerable are struggling?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We are doing everything we can to help the households that will struggle with bills this winter. We have had a big push to increase the uptake of pension credit and we are working with energy suppliers to provide additional support this winter, alongside our warm home discount, which will provide a rebate of £150 to households in fuel poverty. We have also extended the household support fund.
Joe Powell (Kensington and Bayswater) (Lab)
Oral Answers to Questions
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Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)
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)
Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
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.
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)
Alistair Strathern (Hitchin) (Lab)
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)
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?