Martin McCluskey MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Jan 2026 · Factored Energy Arrangements: Pricing · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for all her work to advocate on behalf of her constituents—I think it was at Saltire Square in Granton, and my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (Chris Murray) is doing the same with a heat network in Greendykes. At that meeting, we heard how important it is that we get on top of this. The Ofgem regulation kicks in on 27 January, and we will be looking to Ofgem to implement it as quickly as possible. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Tracy Gilbert) that there are more actions that other Governments across the UK can take in this space. I will turn to that point in a moment. As I say, the Government are committed to ensuring that our approach to these issues delivers the best outcomes for our citizens as our energy system evolves. Ofgem keeps all the standard licence conditions under review to make sure that they are working in the best interests of consumers. As part of that, Ofgem will look again at standard licence condition 6 to ensure that the definitions continue to meet the needs of consumers and the evolving energy market. Before I turn in detail to other energy policy issues, let me briefly say something about factoring as a whole. It is a devolved responsibility, and it is for the Scottish Government to make decisions relating to it. However, there is widespread interest in factoring reform in Scotland, and there is clearly an interaction between the effectiveness of the factor and our ability to provide the best deal in energy, and many other areas, for the consumer. There is clearly a need, and there are widespread calls, for factoring reform in Scotland. There have been no major reforms to factoring since 2011, when my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow West (Patricia Ferguson), in her time as a Member of the Scottish Parliament, took a Member’s Bill through Holyrood. The Scottish Government have recently rejected amendments to housing legislation that would have increased transparency in charging and made it far easier for homeowners to take action against factors. I believe that further work in the area would be welcomed by many across this Chamber and by tenants and homeowners in Scotland. As we have heard from the hon. Member for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, when residents do not have direct control over their energy supply, access to the Energy Ombudsman depends on the specific arrangements between them and the intermediary contracting with the supplier. If residents do not have control over the party that contracts with the supplier, allowing them access to the ombudsman fundamentally changes the role and purpose of the Energy Ombudsman as a service between the supplier and the contracted customer. Ofgem is always happy to clarify where consumers are currently able to access the ombudsman, to make sure that customers are not missing out on any avenues of redress to which they are entitled, but I am happy to take away the hon. Member’s point and raise it when I next meet the Energy Ombudsman in person. Meter profile classes, which the hon. Member also raised, are the responsibility of Elexon. Ofgem has previously clarified that, for communal supply arrangements, profile classes should not be the final determining factor in the supply type offered by suppliers. If further clarification is needed in that area, it can be explored by Ofgem and Elexon. I encourage the hon. Member to write to both of them on that point. We are aware that not having direct control over all aspects of the supply can create difficulties for households. Where households do not have direct control over their individual supply arrangements, Ofgem’s maximum resale price rules protect them from being overcharged by limiting the price of energy charged to consumers to the price paid by those procuring the energy. The principle is that profit should not be made when reselling energy in those kinds of arrangements. The Government are very clear that resellers such as factors or landlords should not profit from the resale of energy. The maximum resale price is set at cost pass-through, meaning that the maximum price at which energy can be resold is the same as the price that the reseller paid. Many who are resold energy have limited choice over who supplies them. The maximum resale price is important, as it is the main protection against resellers exploiting their position. The energy system has evolved significantly since the last substantive review of maximum resale price. The transition to an increasingly decentralised, digitalised and decarbonised system, driven by net zero ambitions and technological innovation, has seen new challenges and opportunities emerge. Ofgem has begun a review of the maximum resale price to determine whether it delivers fair, transparent pricing and adequate consumer protection and whether it enables investment in the low-carbon infrastructure and services necessary to deliver net zero at the lowest cost. Ofgem has identified that enforcement mechanisms for the current maximum resale price rules are failing to protect some consumers. That is a key area of its current review, and decisions on any further action that may be needed will be made on the basis of those findings. The review started with a call for input in autumn 2025 to gather evidence, and Ofgem aims to publish a policy consultation in summer 2026. The MRP has an important role across the energy industry: as well as improving the situation for households, changes to the MRP have a potential positive impact on other areas of the energy industry. I will like to touch briefly on the point that the hon. Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance) raised about his constituent. He may already know that we have announced regulation of third-party intermediaries. We will take that forward through upcoming legislation—this is an important point—to give people more power in brokered energy deals. Ultimately, households in factored properties feel that their energy costs, for communal areas and otherwise, are too high—because fundamentally they are too high. As hon. Members will know, international gas prices are still 40% higher than in 2021. Permanently reducing energy prices can be achieved only by moving to home-grown, clean power that we control. That is why my Department’s central mission is to deliver a clean power system by 2030 through renewables and through new nuclear power. This is the way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and permanently protect bill payers from higher prices. The Government are determined to deliver on that mission, and my Department is leading an ambitious programme of work that will make it happen. For example, the creation of GB Energy will help us to harness clean energy; contracts for difference will continue to drive clean power investment, as we have seen from today’s announcement of allocation round 7; the results of AR7 improvements to the capacity market will ensure security of supply while maximising bill payer value for money; and network improvements, with network providers finally making significant investment after years of under-investment, will reduce the costs of operating the energy system for decades to come. Across all fronts, the Government are taking action to drive down energy bills. Many households in factored properties will also benefit from the announcements that the Chancellor made in the autumn Budget, with action to take an average of £150 off the cost of domestic energy bills by closing the energy company obligation scheme, and providing Exchequer funding to reduce the cost of the renewables obligation for domestic energy suppliers from 1 April. Those measures are designed to provide immediate relief for people across the country and set the foundation for sustained long-term reductions in energy bills through a transition to clean home-grown power. That support, as many hon. Members will know, comes on top of the £150 off energy bills, a measure that was provided by the Government for about 6 million families and was extended—almost doubled—under the warm home discount this winter. It is cutting fuel poverty right now for those consumers who are in receipt of it. In addition to our work on reducing energy prices, the Government are delivering record investment in upgrading our housing stock through the warm homes plan. We have committed £15 billion to making the biggest ever public investment in home upgrades, upgrading up to 5 million homes by accelerating the installation of heat pumps, solar panels, batteries and insulation. When it is announced, it will come with Barnett consequentials for the devolved Governments, including the Scottish Government, to develop their own schemes under the funding. Alongside our action to make electricity cheaper and more flexible, that is how we are delivering warmer, more affordable homes and repairing a broken energy system. I thank hon. Members again for being present at the debate, for raising these issues and for all their contributions, which I assure them will be taken into consideration by the Government and by Ofgem as we move forward. Question put and agreed to.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Oil Refining Sector · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) for securing this debate. I know that he and other hon. Members, including my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn), have been engaging closely on this issue with the Minister for Energy, who stands ready to continue to engage with them on the detail. Let me start with Prax Lindsey oil refinery. It entered insolvency on 30 June 2025 because of the untenable position in which the owners left the refinery, which gave the Government very little time to act. I know how difficult the process has been for the workers, their families and the local community. The insolvency process at the refinery is led by the court-appointed official receiver, who must act independently, in accordance with his statutory duties. Since the insolvency, we have worked with the official receiver to protect workers, and to ensure the safety of the site and the security of fuel supplies. That has also allowed time for bidders to express an interest in the site and its assets. After a thorough process to identify a buyer for the site, the official receiver has determined that Phillips 66 is the most credible bidder and can provide a viable future for the site. I am glad to say that the sale is expected to complete in the first half of 2026. As many hon. Members will be aware, Phillips 66 is an experienced and credible operator of a Humber refinery, next door to Lindsey. It already supplies fuel to the region and has consistently turned a profit in recent years. The sale allows Phillips 66 to quickly expand operations at its Humber refinery. The company has decided not to restart stand-alone refinery operations at Lindsey. In its words, not mine, “Due to the limitations of its scale, facilities, and capabilities, evaluations have shown that the refinery is not viable in current form.” Although that is disappointing, it is not totally unexpected, given the long history of problems with the business. We understand that the previous owners, Total, sought to sell the refinery for several years and sold it to Prax for a nominal amount. Since Prax’s acquisition in 2021, the refinery has recorded about £75 million of losses. In addition, following a thorough assessment of offers, the official receiver confirmed that no offer was put forward that would credibly see a return to refining operations in the next few years. Phillips 66 plans to integrate key assets into its Humber refinery operations, expanding its ability to supply fuel to UK customers from the Humber refinery. That is positive news for boosting domestic energy security, securing jobs—including hundreds of new construction jobs over the next five years—and creating future growth opportunities for renewable and traditional fuels. That being said, Ministers in the Department and I recognise that this is a very worrying time for workers, and I am glad to report that the remaining 250 directly employed workers are guaranteed employment until the end of March, although that will be cold comfort to many of them. Phillips 66 will provide further information on the number of jobs that will be retained as it moves towards completion of the sale in coming months. The Minister for Energy has asked Phillips 66 for clarity as soon as possible, and to retain as many jobs as possible. The Government will continue to support the 124 workers affected by redundancy last October.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Oil Refining Sector · Hansard source

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  I will write to my hon. Friend on that point about the carbon border adjustment mechanism and the ETS. As was set out in the autumn Budget, we are reviewing critical policies to address the challenges that the sector faces. I will briefly go through the steps that we have already taken to help the downstream sector adapt and stay competitive. First, through the renewable transport fuel obligation and the new sustainable aviation fuel mandate, we are backing the production and use of cleaner fuels. The Humber refinery is already delivering sustainable aviation fuels at scale, and refineries at Fawley and Stanlow are benefiting from Government support through the advanced fuels fund to bring next-generation fuels to market. We are also working to de-risk investment in sustainable aviation fuel production through the revenue certainty mechanism. Secondly, we are working closely with industry on major decarbonisation efforts, including carbon capture and hydrogen projects, within industrial clusters such as Viking and HyNet, which will be central to keeping UK manufacturing competitive as global markets tighten emissions standards. The UK ETS Authority’s decision to maintain current benchmarks for the 2027 scheme year provides the consistency and breathing room that energy-intensive industries need to plan investments and manage costs effectively. In the autumn Budget, we committed to assessing the feasibility of including refined products in the carbon border adjustment mechanism. That is a key priority for industry, and it would help ensure that UK refineries were not undercut by imports produced to lower environmental standards. Collectively, these measures signal our determination to create the conditions for continued investment, innovation and long-term competitiveness as we transition to a low-carbon economy. Looking ahead, the Government are deepening their engagement with the sector to ensure a smooth and secure transition in the coming years. It is important to note that Minister Shanks led the first ministerial—

• 14 Jan 2026 · Oil Refining Sector · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman will know that such discussions are commercially confidential, and the official receiver has undertaken an independent process to come to his decision. As my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes mentioned, the support for the 124 workers affected by redundancy last October includes a training guarantee to ensure that they have the skills that they need, and are supported to find long-term jobs. That goes above and beyond the usual support offered in insolvency situations. I am pleased to confirm that many —the majority—of those workers have already taken up this offer. My hon. Friend the Minister for Energy will be pleased to discuss any issues that my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes thinks may emerge to do with the training guarantee. I believe that the agreement with Phillips 66 marks the next step in securing an industrial future for the site and for the workers, who were badly let down by the former owners. The circumstances surrounding the insolvency are deeply concerning, and that is why the Energy Secretary immediately demanded that the Insolvency Service launch an investigation into the owners’ conduct and the circumstances surrounding the insolvency, which is ongoing. Turning to issues in the broader UK oil refining sector, the UK’s refineries continue to play a vital role in maintaining reliable supplies of essential fuels that keep transport moving, industry operating and support households with their day-to-day lives. We appreciate that their contribution goes far beyond fuel alone. They are anchors for local economies, providing well-paid, skilled jobs and supporting a wide web of supply chains, which involve everything from chemicals to plastics to advanced manufacturing. Refinery facilities also enable the production of specialist materials that many of our industries rely on. For example, the Humber refinery produces the UK’s only anode-grade petroleum coke, used in electric vehicle technology, while Fawley’s output of specialised rubber helped to ensure vaccine vials could be produced securely during the pandemic. Crucially, our refineries are also adapting for the future. They are investing in modernisation, low-carbon fuels, and technologies such as carbon capture, which are all essential to the UK’s transition to net zero. The Humber region will have a major role to play in that over the coming years. While overall fuel demand is expected to shift over time, sectors such as aviation, maritime and heavy industry will continue to depend on refined products well into the future. We want to preserve our refining sector and keep it competitive.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Oil Refining Sector · Hansard source

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  Thank you for reprimanding me, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Minister for Energy led the first ministerial roundtable with the sector for more than a decade, and will continue to engage with the industry. In closing, let me be clear: we recognise the importance of the Lindsey oil refinery and the Lindsey site to the local community and the national economy. The integration of its assets into the Humber refinery will boost energy security and support high-quality employment locally. The UK refining sector matters, and that is why this Government are acting. From supporting low-carbon fuel production and deploying carbon capture and hydrogen, to launching a call for evidence that will shape our long-term strategy, we will work with industry, devolved Governments and the community to deliver a managed transition. Question put and agreed to.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Heat networks are crucial to future decarbonisation. I would be more than happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that in detail.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  If the hon. Member sends me the details, I would be more than happy to look into it. That would be a matter for Ofgem, but there is also recourse available through the Energy Ombudsman.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I have had very constructive conversations with the hon. Member about this. The warm homes plan will be published soon, and we will have something to say in that.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend will have heard me say earlier how important heat networks are to decarbonisation. They will play such an important role in providing energy across our country in future. I am more than happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to highlight the work of the Brockmoor Energy and Environment Scheme. I met Richard Parker recently, and I hope to come and see some of these projects myself in the future. We will soon publish the warm homes plan, which will set out further plans to support such projects, but we have already allocated £1.8 billion to local authorities and social housing providers through the warm homes local grant, and the warm homes social housing fund.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Fuel Poverty · Hansard source

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  The warm homes plan will be published soon and I look forward to conversations with the hon. Member about how we roll out its ambitious measures. ECO did not target those in fuel poverty successfully enough—we spent far too much on something that did not deliver the right results. Instead, the warm homes plan will provide £1.5 billion of additional capital support, targeted at people on low incomes. That is in addition to, for example, local authority grants, which target billions of pounds at low-income households. However, I am more than happy to have further conversations with the hon. Member when the warm homes plan is published.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Fuel Poverty · Hansard source

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  Tackling fuel poverty is a priority for this Government. We will publish a new fuel poverty strategy for England to ensure that many more fuel-poor households are protected by 2030, at the same time as publishing the warm homes plan. We have also expanded the warm home discount to nearly 6 million households, adding approximately 2.7 million additional households to the scheme.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Fuel Poverty · Hansard source

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  It is worth waiting for the warm homes plan, which will be published very soon. Alongside that there will be an ambitious fuel poverty plan for England. The Chancellor has already announced £15 billion of funding for that. We will set it out very soon and I look forward to constructive discussions with the hon. Member when it is published.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Fuel Poverty · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. Energy prices are still far too high because of dither and delay from the Opposition when they were in government. No one should have to make the difficult choices that my hon. Friend describes. The Government are totally focused on reducing the cost of energy and making life easier for people throughout the UK. That focus includes the £150 off the cost of energy from next April—the removal of those costs from bills—and the extension of the warm home discount. We are also working with other Government Departments to improve access to data so that we can properly target support for households. We will come forward with more proposals in due course.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Warm Home Discount · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is a champion not just for his own constituency, but for Cornwall as a whole. We support the development of geothermal projects and recognise, in particular, the potential of geothermal heat as a low-carbon source for heat networks. We will have more to say about that in the warm homes plan, which will be published soon.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Warm Home Discount · Hansard source

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  The Government are gripped by the need to get energy bills down. That is why in April we will take £150 off the cost of energy for everyone in the country, and why we extended the warm home discount this year to 6 million households, almost doubling the previous number, and we will continue to take action to reduce bills for people across the country.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Warm Home Discount · Hansard source

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  Happy new year to you, Mr Speaker, and to other hon. Members. I am proud that the Labour Government have extended the warm home discount to an extra 2.7 million households, extending the total to around 6 million. The Conservatives opposed that change. It will make a vital difference to so many families this winter, including approximately an additional 220,000 households in the south-west. That is almost double the number of households supported year on year.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Draft Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  I am sure that, having experienced the original work on the 2023 Act, the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine has a firm grip of exactly what is in here. I am pleased to have been able to relieve him of the burden of the heat network regulations by taking on this role as Minister for Energy Consumers. On the two points that the hon. Gentleman raises, I am confident both that what we are doing with zoning—that does not apply to Scotland, as he will know—will provide more regulatory power for those who are connecting to heat networks; and that this measure and subsequent regulations will ensure that people are properly protected. I agree with his comments about unregulated, decentralised heating networks. Many Members will have heard from constituents who have experienced real detriment because of a lack of regulation in this area. As the hon. Gentleman will know, there are more than 12,000 heat networks across the country, many of which are old legacy systems, and other regulations that we will introduce will address some of the legacy issues with older heat networks. However, I am confident that what we have laid out today will provide additional support. Obviously, there will be further detail on the SAR process, but today is about setting out the general principles. The detailed processes and procedures will be delivered through separate instruments further down the line. I hope that that provides him with the reassurance he was looking for. With the introduction of market regulation to this sector, the Government are doing something that has never been done before. All households that are connected to a heat network, including the most vulnerable, will now enjoy statutory protections. Heat networks, as I said earlier, could play a crucial role in helping to deliver our ambitions to become a clean energy superpower. To support that, we are proposing proportionate protections for current and future heat network consumers. I commend the regulations to the Committee. Question put and agreed to.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Draft Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) (Amendment) Regulations 2025. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. Heat networks are a pivotal part of our mission to achieve net zero. They are proven to be the most affordable low carbon heat solution in high-density areas, and they can access heat from a variety of sources, including waste heat from growth sectors such as artificial intelligence, which will support energy resilience in an uncertain world. That potential has fuelled Government ambition, and by 2050 we aim to grow heat networks from the current 3% of the UK’s heat demand to 20%. For that ambition to be realised, consumers need to know that they can trust heat networks to provide safe, reliable and cost-effective heat. That starts by ensuring that the nearly half a million households that already rely on heat networks are getting the best possible levels of service. As the Minister for Energy Consumers, I have met people who are experiencing poor customer service and frequent outages, and people who have been left frustrated by poor communication and opaque prices—most recently two weeks ago in Edinburgh. There can be no greater motivation to get on and put in place a market framework that delivers for all heat network consumers. The Energy Act 2023 provides powers for the Secretary of State to introduce regulations to apply in Great Britain. As per section 220 of the Energy Act, we have consulted Scottish Ministers on these regulations and we have their support in this matter. These regulations, as Members will know, do not apply to Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Executive have their own powers to introduce regulation. In March, when this House approved the Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) Regulations 2025, we took the first step in ensuring that consumers in a heat network will receive protections comparable to those for gas and electricity. Those regulations introduced the authorisation regime, which will work similarly to the domestic gas and electricity licensing regime and will provide heat network consumers, including the most vulnerable, with the protections they need and deserve. From 27 January, Ofgem will have the powers to investigate and take action where heat network prices are unfair, to put in place protections from disconnection for vulnerable consumers, and to establish complaints handling processes and standards of conduct that require heat network suppliers to treat their customers fairly. That is just the start, as we seek for the first time ever to establish a regulated market framework to protect heat network consumers and support sector growth. This statutory instrument builds on the previous statutory instrument by amending it. The amendments expand on the authorisation regime that Ofgem will implement. That includes the provision of powers to Ofgem to assist with the conduct of pricing investigations. Those powers are essential if Ofgem is to protect consumers from unfair high prices and ensure that price decisions are fully tested and transparent. Other new requirements include the introduction of deemed contracts for households that are being supplied without an official heat supply contract in place. That will ensure that their rights are protected and they will not have their supply disrupted. Additionally, the regulations include provisions to protect consumers if a heat network becomes insolvent. A special administration regime will seek to ensure that consumers do not experience interruptions to their supply of heating and hot water in the event of a heat network operator or supplier insolvency. The statutory instrument also makes it clear that air conditioning systems will be explicitly excluded from the scope of these regulations. Those systems are different from heat networks, and we believe that including them would not be proportionate or in the interests of consumers. The regulations include provisions to partially revoke the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014. This is designed to avoid duplication in legislation, as some existing requirements and obligations on heat suppliers in the 2014 regulations will be simplified and made more user-friendly, rather than removed entirely. Finally, the regulations make changes to the scope of the ombudsman scheme. The addition of small businesses aims to align the scope for heat networks with the scheme’s application in gas and electricity markets. Members may notice that there is a slight error in regulation 10, which would have the effect of applying a different definition for a micro-business from that in gas and electricity markets. My officials are aware of this issue, and we will ensure that this error is rectified before the authorisation regime comes into effect. Technical standards for heat networks are a crucial element of the market framework. We have committed to mandating minimum technical standards, and we aim to consult on proposals shortly. However, those are not in scope of this statutory instrument. There will be an opportunity to discuss that in Committee in more detail at a later date when we introduce regulations. The regulations have been informed by four public consultations dating back to February 2020, in the time of the previous Government. Feedback from those consultations has been crucial in developing the final proposals included in the earlier 2025 regulations and in these ones. The detailed Ofgem authorisation conditions are still being consulted on and will be published before the authorisation regime commences on 27 January 2026. This statutory instrument is the culmination of years of engagement with the sector, consumers and their representatives. It seeks to introduce the final elements of the heat network market framework, providing better consumer protections and outcomes. That and the wider heat network regulatory regime represent the first big step in providing heat network consumers with equivalent protections to those in gas and electricity markets. It provides regulation proportionate to the size of Government’s ambitions for the heat network sector and its future growth.

• 1 Dec 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  Rubbish.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Home Insulation · Hansard source

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  I would be more than happy to look at that. I have been working to help develop the warm homes plan and am looking particularly at area-based approaches; one of the most effective is when entire communities and neighbourhoods are upgraded at once. The effect is much larger, and neighbours can see the impact on their bills, which helps to spread the benefit. The warm homes plan will set out in more detail how we are going to meet the challenge addressed in this debate. We have been working hard behind the scenes to get it right and will publish it in full soon. We have been clear from the moment we came into government about the scale of the ambition. My hon. Friend mentioned £13.5 billion; after the Budget today that number is actually £15 billion, and we have extended our ambition to upgrade 5 million homes. As a student of history, I think of the first Labour Government in the 1920s with their housing Act—the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act 1924—which upgraded and subsidised half a million homes. What we are trying to do with the warm homes plan is 10 times that. That is the level of ambition we have. It means entire streets and whole neighbourhoods benefiting from solar panels, heat pumps, home batteries and better insulation. We have already kick-started that. We are not waiting for the plan to get on with delivery. We have allocated £1.8 billion through the warm homes local grant and warm homes social housing fund. We have set out proposals to increase minimum energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector in England and Wales to EPC C or equivalent by 2030 and introduced a minimum standard in the social rented sector, which is incredibly important for many of our constituents. Those measures, combined, will lift hundreds of thousands of households out of poverty. For homeowners, we are making it cheaper and easier to install a heat pump. To the point made by the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), we announced the extension of the boiler upgrade scheme to new technologies last week, and we have an ongoing consultation on alternative technologies. We have doubled the funding for the boiler upgrade scheme to £295 million this year and, because of decisions made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor in the Budget, we will be increasing it year on year up to 2030. Just this month, as I said, the expansion has meant that we are able to extend the scheme to air-to-air heat pumps, a technology that I know many of our constituents were calling on the Government to make a change on last summer. While we deliver the plan, we know there has to be short-term as well as longer-term action. That is why we have expanded the warm homes discount this year to every household where the billpayer is on a means-tested benefit. That is £150-worth of support directly to billpayers this winter. My hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) mentioned Beat the Cold; I met Fiona Miller yesterday and had a very good conversation with her about the work she is doing on data sharing between the NHS and her organisation. That is something I want to look at, and I am keen to visit Stoke-on-Trent Central to see in person the work that Beat the Cold is doing. All those action that are taking place are good in the short term, but how do we tackle the cost of living and bring energy bills down for good? In the long term, we do that by pushing for our target of clean power by 2030: clean power generated in Britain, which we control and which will end the rollercoaster of energy bills that, bluntly, are at the moment decided by dictators and upheavals beyond our borders. We do that by upgrading homes with electrified, energy-efficient technologies, putting people in a position to benefit directly from clean, secure, affordable energy. My immediate focus remains on some of the issues that we have heard about today, and on the people across the country living in homes that they can barely afford to heat. As we enter another winter, people should not have to choose between heating and eating. A large part of the reason the Chancellor took the action that she took in today’s Budget is that she wants to stop people having to make those incredibly difficult choices. When we publish it, the warm homes plan will set out our path to a future that we all want to see. We want warmer homes, no matter where we live or whether we rent or own—homes that are smarter, cheaper to run and greener, and are protected by a system that keeps them free of damp, mould and other issues. I welcome this debate, and I again congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley. Question put and agreed to.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Home Insulation · Hansard source

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  The letters will be sent, I think, from today. Many of those households will already have received knocks on the door or possibly direct contact from scheme providers. We are clear that the system needs to remediate this in the first instance. The issue was caused by the system, and there are guarantees available through the schemes to ensure that they are remediated. If any Member is dealing with constituents whose audits are not getting done properly or who are having difficulty with the guarantee providers, I ask them please to come directly to me, because we need to know exactly what is happening as this action takes place. Despite all the actions we are taking on ECO4, we still need to think about the future system. That is why we have committed to reforming the system and to accelerating that process. I can confirm that we are looking at the entire landscape of consumer protection, from how installers work in homes to where people turn for rapid action and enforcement if things go wrong. The Government are planning to consult on the specific proposals early in the new year, and are already working with industry and consumer protection experts to develop and stress-test plans, including through the retrofit system reform advisory panel, which was set up under my predecessor and began work in July. As this is one of the most urgent challenges that the Government face in our mission to improve the lives of working people, my right hon. and learned Friend the Prime Minister gave me the clearest of instructions on my first day in the job: to reduce bills by making millions more homes warm, safe and fit for the 21st century. We face a number of challenges, as my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley alluded to. More than 80% of UK homes rely on gas for heating—among the highest percentages in the world, meaning that we are particularly exposed to crises or energy shocks, as we saw after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, we have some of the oldest housing stock in Europe; more than a third of houses were built before the second world war, most with uninsulated walls, meaning that yet more money and fossil fuels are needed to heat them. My hon. Friend mentioned a project in Saltaire, and I will be more than happy to visit. I have had good and constructive conversations with Members across the House regarding heritage retrofit. That is something we have to address in the new plan.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Home Insulation · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I thank all hon. Members for their contributions today, and I thank particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon), not only for securing the debate, but for all her work on the Public Accounts Committee in scrutinising the ECO4 scandal. Over the last few months, she has fought extremely hard for her constituents who have suffered from substandard insulation through Government schemes. When I came to this brief, about 10 weeks ago, I was presented with the outcome of the National Audit Office report. I was shocked by the extent of the failures under the previous Government, by the system that we inherited and by the many personal stories of people impacted by damp, mould and other issues. Homes hold a special place in people’s hearts. They are places that we pour time and money into. We make memories in them. They are sanctuaries, shelters, places of care and settings for our lives. People will not put their homes at risk unless they can be absolutely sure that things will not go wrong—or that, if they do, they will be put right. That is why we are making consumer protection reform such a central part of the upcoming warm homes plan. Just a few months into this new Government, widespread cases of poor-quality insulation were identified under the ECO4 and Great British insulation schemes. The Government, including both me and my predecessor, have spoken extensively about our actions on this. To give hon. Members reassurance, those include enhanced checks and oversight of contractors and TrustMark; new restrictions on installers operating through the multiple certification bodies we have; updated standards for retrofit co-ordinators and designers; and an offer of a comprehensive on-site audit to every household with external wall insulation installed under those two schemes, at no cost to the consumer. I see hon. Members present who I know are advocated for constituents facing particular problems with ECO4; they will all be receiving notices of audits, or maybe they have already. I encourage hon. Members to make sure that their constituents take up that offer of an audit, because that is the gateway to remediation.

• 18 Nov 2025 · ECO4 Scheme: TrustMark Standards · Hansard source

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  I share the hon. Member’s concerns about this issue, which is the result of a shocking dereliction of duty by the previous Government in the oversight of these schemes. I am aware of the particular situation in Leicester, and we are undertaking specific work to engage with the community there to ensure that people take up the offer of an audit and therefore get their homes remediated. I am more than happy to meet the hon. Member and any affected Members who have this situation with ECO4 in their constituency.

• 18 Nov 2025 · ECO4 Scheme: TrustMark Standards · Hansard source

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  Having inherited a flawed system of oversight and regulation established by the previous Government, we now have much closer oversight of TrustMark, including a board observer and clear reporting requirements. TrustMark has also improved its processes and systems, and our warm homes plan will set out a strengthened consumer protection regime for the ECO4 scheme shortly.