Warm Home Discount

Pamela Nash Excerpts

Thursday 19th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

I thank the right hon. Member for a very good question. We know that families are struggling with the cost of living. We know that families are in poverty, and that many are having to make the choice between heating and eating. We are trying to put in place a range of measures, and the warm home discount —this £150—is part of it. We have extended free school meals to families on means-tested benefits. We are rolling out breakfast clubs. There is a range of things that we are trying to do as a Government to ensure that people who are struggling and who have been struggling for a long time are lifted out of poverty. We are very clear about our ambition. Every time Labour comes to power, our record is that we lift people out of poverty, and we will continue to do that.

[Pamela Nash (Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister’s statement, as will nearly a quarter of a million people across Scotland who will benefit from this £150 warm home discount for the first time. We always appreciate these measures a little bit more in Scotland, because our weather is a bit colder. We have to keep reminding people of that, even today. Does the Minister share my pride in this Government expanding support for more people who need it most because we are turning the tide on failure and building a strong economy on the back of clean energy?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. The legacy—the inheritance—was woeful. I do not need to say that, because people feel it across the country. We, as the incoming Government, have a responsibility to ensure that we are doing everything that we can to lift living standards—everything that we can to support families who we know are struggling. I share my hon. Friend’s pride in our being able to expand the support, because we know just how much it is needed. None the less, there is more that we need to do. We will not stop here. If we get the roll-out of the warm homes plan right, and if we are upgrading homes, we will be taking up to £600 off bills. The bigger plan that we must take forward will help us to deliver clean power, so that we can reduce bills for everyone. This Government are clear about the task of improving living standards. It is core to what we need to do and to what we need to achieve as a Government, and we are getting on and delivering it.