Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of ending the Energy Company Obligation on private sector investment in home energy efficiency in Wales.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
To bring energy bills down for all, the decision has been made not to continue the Energy Company Obligation when the current scheme ends.
We recognise that the decision will be unwelcome news to those working within the supply chain for these schemes. The government has instead committed to additional grant funding of £1.5bn to be directed to upgrading low-income households, benefitting those in fuel poverty. Details of this will be set out in the Warm Homes Plan.
We also intend to implement the manifesto commitment to increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the private and social rented sectors.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what replacement scheme will support energy efficiency for low-income households after ECO4 ends on 31 March 2026.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government has committed to additional grant funding of £1.5bn which will be directed to upgrading low-income households, benefitting those in fuel poverty. This will take total Warm Homes Plan funding to around £15 billion; more details will be set out soon. The government continues to improve home energy efficiency through Warm Homes: Social Housing Decarbonisation, Warm Homes: Local Government and the ongoing Boiler Upgrade Scheme supporting thousands of households to upgrade their heating systems.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of potential changes in the level of demand for insulation and heating upgrades following the reduction of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO).
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government recognises that demand for energy efficiency upgrades will remain strong. To bring energy bills down for all, the decision has been made not to continue the Energy Company Obligation when the current scheme ends.
The government has instead committed an additional £1.5bn of grant funding, which will be directed to upgrading low-income households, benefiting those in fuel poverty. The details of this will be set out in the Warm Homes Plan.
The government continues to improve home energy efficiency through schemes, such as the Warm Home: Social Decarbonisation, Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Boiler Upgrade scheme.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on local employment and SME supply chains of reducing the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
To bring domestic energy bills down for all, ECO will not continue when the current schemes end. Government recognises that this is likely to have an impact on some companies in the supply chain.
Government has instead committed additional grant funding of £1.5 billion, which will be directed to upgrading low-income households, benefiting those in fuel poverty. Government will set out the details of this in the Warm Homes Plan.
Government continues to improve home energy efficiency through other existing schemes, such as the Warm Home: Social Housing Fund, Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of excess winter deaths.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
A very wide range of factors impact changes in mortality – and details of excess deaths can be found across several sets of government statistics. Causes are multiple – including cold homes, fuel poverty, respiratory infections, and pressures on health and social care systems, and as such, multiple government departments offer relevant support.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) leads on winter preparedness measures each year and on public health strategies; The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) addresses energy affordability and housing efficiency through schemes such as the Warm Home Discount and Warm Homes Plan, which help reduce cold exposure and fuel poverty; and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides financial support to vulnerable households through a range of pensions, benefits and payments. Together these measures work to mitigate risks associated with cold temperatures.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Clean Power plan for helping those in fuel poverty and those currently using gas boilers in transitioning to clean greener energy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we delivered the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households last winter. On 19 June 2025, we announced that we are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. This means that from this winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bills.
We are also delivering improvements to home energy efficiency through a number of schemes including the Warm Homes: Social Housing Decarbonisation, Warm Homes: Local Government and the continuation of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which is supporting thousands of households to upgrade their heating systems. As more homes are made energy efficient this will reduce carbon emissions, reduce overall energy demand and reduce energy bills for consumers.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of the additional annual cost to households in Bradford caused by delays in delivering large-scale home insulation programmes since 2019.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No estimates have been made on the delays of home insulation programmes since 2019. We know improving the energy efficiency of our homes is an important step in reducing fuel poverty.
There are several government energy efficiency schemes and households can access the government's home retrofit tool on GOV.UK (www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency), which allows users to get tailored recommendations for home improvements that could make their property cheaper to heat and keep warm.
This government’s ambitious Warm Homes Plan will transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run, from installing new insulation to rolling out solar and heat pumps. We will publish more details soon.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of improved household insulation on levels of fuel poverty in the Scottish Highlands.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Energy efficiency policy is devolved in Scotland. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has reporting responsibilities for England only.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment she has made of the level of fuel poverty in Bradford; and what steps her Department is taking to support households spending more than a quarter of their income on energy bills.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In 2023, 18.7% of households in the Bradford East parliamentary constituency were estimated to be in fuel poverty.
It is imperative that fuel poor homes benefit from the transition to net zero. We are working across government on a comprehensive Warm Homes Plan for households to cut energy bills for good and will publish more details soon. We will upgrade up to 5 million homes across the country, including those in Bradford, and the transition to warmer, decarbonised homes. This will include support for the most vulnerable to help slash fuel poverty.
There are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating to low income and fuel poor households. Schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, and the new Warm Homes: Local Grant.
Support is also available through the Warm Home Discount schemes which provide eligible low-income households across Great Britain with £150 off their winter energy bill. We are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. This means that from this winter around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bill costs.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the disproportionate effect of failed insulation schemes on low-income households targeted by previous government energy-efficiency programmes.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
ECO has installed measures in 2.6m households. ECO4 was designed to address deep fuel poverty by addressing the worst properties first. When installed correctly, insulation can help reduce energy costs.
DESNZ has acknowledged there have been quality failings with SWI measures installed under the current ECO4 and GBIS schemes. As a result, we have committed to a property level check, followed by remediation of any issues found, for all households fitted with EWI under those schemes.
Our Warm Homes Plan will outline the full package of measures proposed to support those on low-income and get people out of fuel-poverty.