Part of Energy Security and Net Zero – in the House of Commons at on 24 March 2026.
Martin McCluskey
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I think I need to start by correcting some of what the hon. Gentleman said. In my statement last week, I confirmed that LPG was part of the support—perhaps he did not hear that. Our priority, all the way through this crisis, has been to ensure that funding reaches people at speed. That is why we have delivered support in two weeks, not 200 days. On his point about means-testing, the funding is discretionary, so local authorities can decide how to provide it to people. I think he also called for a CMA investigation. We will look and study the results of the investigation to see what needs to happen to regulate the industry, but, as I said from the Dispatch Box a number of times last week, it is clear that the market is not functioning properly.
If you've ever seen inside the Commons, you'll notice a large table in the middle - upon this table is a box, known as the dispatch box. When members of the Cabinet or Shadow Cabinet address the house, they speak from the dispatch box. There is a dispatch box for the government and for the opposition. Ministers and Shadow Ministers speak to the house from these boxes.