Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Labour MP for Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West
The hon. Gentleman will know that tackling the cost of living is this Government’s priority. We have already taken action at the Budget, and we have also expanded the warm home discount to nearly 6 million households. We are working closely with other Departments on our kickstarter programme to test how public sector data could be better joined up to target support at those who need it most.
I am disappointed at the hon. Gentleman’s statement. We are making the case strongly and our pledge to reduce energy bills still stands. He will know that renewables are the quickest way to reduce our energy bills. He will also know that the warm home discount is providing significant support to people in his constituency right now. Just this year, the number of people in his constituency...
My hon. Friend makes a really important point. If we are to reach our clean power targets, we need heat networks on the system to be providing significant levels of clean heat. He will know that the green heat network fund is already providing significant support across the country, and we will of course look at what more we can do to support heat networks over the coming years.
I know the recent rise in energy bills will be very concerning for families across the country. At the last Budget, we took an average of £150 off energy bills, which is now factored into our bills for years to come, and we have also expanded the warm home discount.
We are preparing for every contingency and looking at the support that may be required in the autumn and winter. The significant increase in the warm home discount has obviously benefited households right across the country, not least in my hon. Friend’s constituency. The number receiving the warm home discount in York Central has increased from nearly 2,500 to over 8,000, to a value of...
This is nonsense. That was set up by an arm’s length organisation set up by the previous Government. It is not something that the Government are funding. In so far as that refers to more affordable energy, we are obviously working at pace to make sure energy is affordable right across the United Kingdom, including whatever support we can offer in Northern Ireland.
I commend my hon. Friend and his constituents for their enthusiasm for the warm homes plan. They can already access grants through the warm homes plan, and they will soon be able to receive loans.
I pay tribute to the work my hon. Friend is doing for her constituents on this issue. The most effective way to decouple our electricity prices from gas is to expand our renewable generation. Every wind turbine we turn on and every solar panel that we deploy helps to push gas off as the price-setter. We will continue to work in this way.
DESNZ leads the UK’s engagement with UNIDO and is responding as the policy lead. My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State has not held any recent formal meetings with UNIDO, but DESNZ officials have held multiple meetings with UNIDO officials, particularly in relation to the UK's accession to UNIDO, DESNZ-led International Climate Finance programmes, country partnerships and coordinated...
As set out in the Warm Homes Plan, our buildings are not currently built to deal with record summer temperatures and some are at significant risk of overheating. That’s why the government is introducing the most appropriate, cost-effective passive cooling measures into our capital schemes, which will deliver £4.4 billion in direct grants by 2030 to support low-income households. These...
When replacing a fossil fuel heating system with a heat pump or other low carbon technology, the expectation and rules for waste disposal are the same as like-for-like replacements. Guidance for the disposal of appliances varies by product categorisation. Advice on waste management can be found on gov.uk.
Ofgem’s Guaranteed Standards of Performance (GSOP) framework outlines the minimum levels of performance consumers can expect from suppliers, with automatic compensation provided if these standards are not met. The level of GSOP payments was recently increased in 2025 from £30 to £40 to account for inflation since the £30 payment level was set in 2015. Ofgem is currently reviewing the...
The latest sub-regional fuel poverty data were published in May 2026, these estimated the level of fuel poverty in 2024, under the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) metric. The Birmingham Local Authority had an estimated fuel poverty rate of 13.8% (60,832 households) in 2024, which is higher than the overall fuel poverty rate in England of 9.9%.
The Government is taking significant steps to make heat pumps more accessible and affordable for homeowners, demonstrated by the record installation levels set in both 2024 and 2025. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) provides grants of up to £7,500 for all eligible households in England and Wales, and we recently announced a £1,500 uplift for properties heated by oil and LPG. We recently...
HMG does not hold a separate Government-owned strategic reserve of petrol or diesel. The UK meets its International Energy Agency obligations by requiring industry to hold emergency stocks, which can be made available in the event of a supply disruption.
Based on analysis of Non-Domestic National Energy Efficiency Data-Framework 2025, we estimate that approximately 93% of non-domestic buildings have a floor area of less than or equal to 1,000 square meters. The non-domestic PRS MEES Impact Assessment will be published in due course.
