Business of the House

Patricia Gibson Excerpts

Thursday 22nd September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

My hon. Friend may have more information than I do about why PayPal has cancelled those accounts and removed that facility from the organisations he mentioned. From what I understand, the Free Speech Union and other organisations are still in the dark about exactly why they have had those services removed, despite making great efforts to find out. That is a common theme in the casework of many Members of the House, whether that is cancelling contracts or trying to get an error resolved with firms, and it is difficult for people to speak directly to someone to try to get a situation resolved, or to reorganise how they will make those payments. That is a good topic for debate, and I encourage hon. Members who are concerned about customer services in some of these organisations to bring the issue forward and ask for a debate in the usual way.

[Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)]

Some 6.7 million households across the UK already live in fuel poverty, with a current cap price of £1,971. Will the Leader of the House make a statement to set out whether she believes that the energy cap rising by another £600 will help householders such as those in my constituency who already cannot afford to pay their energy bills, as well as those who will shortly find themselves adding to the soaring numbers of those in fuel poverty as a direct result of the new increase in the price cap?

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Lady will know that we have acted swiftly to bring forward measures to help households and businesses with the rising cost of energy. The Government will also address the underlying issues that are exacerbating the problem. One of those has been announced today, and the Business Secretary has answered an urgent question on that. I urge all Members of the House to concentrate on issues that will help us to increase supply of energy, as well as controlling the costs.