Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tim Farron and Martin McCluskey

Tuesday 18th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

Will the Minister commit to an emergency home insulation programme beginning this winter for people on the lowest incomes so we can drive down their bills now and, more importantly, for good? Will he also acknowledge, given our recent conversation, the realities of rural fuel poverty? In Westmorland, like in many other rural communities, 25% of houses were built before 1900, making them so much harder to insulate and more expensive to heat. Will the warm home discount be tailored to cut bills in rural communities too?

[Martin McCluskey]

I was pleased to meet the hon. Gentleman yesterday to discuss some of the issues in his constituency. As we look at future schemes, we will look at how they can apply to different types of housing across the country. As for this winter, the support that we have put in place is the warm home discount, which is on offer to 6 million people across the country—that is one in six households—and comes to £150 off bills. That is the support we are offering this winter. If he has other suggestions about how the warm home discount should operate, as I said to my hon. Friend the Member for City of Durham (Mary Kelly Foy) earlier, a consultation is running that closes next Thursday and I encourage him and organisations in his constituency to respond to that.