Miatta Fahnbulleh MP: speeches

Speeches

• 15 Jul 2025 · Energy Costs: Businesses · Hansard source

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  We know that the cost of energy is a huge challenge to businesses across the country. That is why our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is so important: that is how we will get bills down for good. While we try to get there, we are taking action to support businesses, including through the new British industrial competitiveness scheme, which will reduce electricity costs by around 20% to 25% for more than 7,000 businesses.

• 15 Jul 2025 · Energy Costs: Businesses · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is completely right to stress the challenges faced by businesses. The Government are committed to backing businesses. We are working with the regulator to make sure that the system is fair for everyone and, as is set out in our industrial strategy, from 2027 the new British industrial competitiveness scheme will reduce electricity costs by up to £40 per megawatt-hour, which will benefit thousands of electricity-intensive industries, including the ones in his constituency. We are very clear that we are backing businesses, and we will do everything we can to support them in driving down bills.

• 15 Jul 2025 · Energy Costs: Businesses · Hansard source

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  Every time the hon. Member stands up to speak, I hold my head in absolute frustration. He is gambling with fossil fuels, and quite frankly the Conservatives should hang their heads in shame. Energy bills rocketed under their watch and they did nothing about it—they were happy with that. That is not a legacy that we are willing to contend with, which is why we are taking action in the short term to drive down bills through our sprint to clean power. Their legacy is one they should be ashamed of, so they should not be lecturing us.

• 15 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We are very clear that energy companies have strict obligations to follow. We are working with Ofgem to ensure that it adheres to those obligations, and we are doing the job of reviewing Ofgem to ensure that it is a proper consumer champion, with the mandate and powers to work on behalf of consumers and reform this market so that it works in the interests of the hon. Lady’s constituents.

• 15 Jul 2025 · Warm Home Discount · Hansard source

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  Sadly, we do not have data at constituency level, but I can tell my hon. Friend, who is a brilliant champion for his constituency, that around 100,000 extra households in the north-east will benefit from the expansion—an increase of around 50%.

• 15 Jul 2025 · Warm Home Discount · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member makes an important point. We are very clear that we need to make sure that we have the right solutions for every household, including those in rural communities. I have met representatives from rural communities, councils, Members and some of the companies that are trying to do work in rural communities. We are absolutely committed to getting this right as part of the warm homes plan.

• 15 Jul 2025 · Warm Home Discount · Hansard source

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  We know that households are under huge pressure with the cost of living, and energy costs are a big part of that. The expansion of the warm home discount scheme will mean that nearly 3 million more families will receive vital support with their energy bills this winter. This will provide much-needed help at a time when people desperately need it.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Draft Warm Home Discount (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Warm Home Discount (Amendment) Regulations 2025. The regulations were laid before the House on 19 June 2025. In February, we consulted on expanding the warm home discount scheme, which provides vulnerable households with a rebate of £150 off their energy bills; it goes to all bill payers on means-tested benefits. Today we are discussing the regulations that will allow us to implement those changes and bring energy bill relief to 2.7 million additional households. Let me begin with the context and why we are doing this. Since we took office, the Government have been committed to alleviating fuel poverty and addressing the cost of living crisis. When we reviewed the 2021 fuel poverty strategy, it was clear that progress had stalled under the last Government and that we needed a new plan to accelerate our progress towards tackling fuel poverty. There are two primary ways in which such progress can be accelerated: upgrading homes, to make them warmer and cheaper to run; and making energy more affordable, through expanding direct bill support. The first will be driven through our £13.2 billion investment in the warm homes plan, which aims to upgrade homes across the country and transform our housing stock. But while we do that, some households are at risk of being left behind before they can feel the full benefits. Energy bill rebates such as the warm home discount can reach families immediately; they are easy to deliver and consumers do not need to take any action to receive them. As a result, while we tackle the underlying issues that are driving up energy bills through our warm homes plan and our sprint to Clean Power 2030, the warm home discount provides a vital short-term means of mitigating fuel poverty and providing support to the households that need it the most. Since 2011, the warm home discount has helped around 3 million low income and vulnerable households each year by reducing their energy bills at a time of year when that is most needed. Under the current scheme, around 1 million low income pensioners in receipt of guaranteed pension credit received the £150 warm home discount as an automatic rebate on their energy bills. Over 2 million low income and vulnerable households also received the rebate. This statutory instrument would amend the Warm Home Discount (England and Wales) Regulations 2022 to allow amendment to the eligibility criteria for this coming winter, so that more rebates are provided to households. It would also extend the period during which rebate notices can be issued to suppliers, ensuring that as many rebates as possible can be issued by suppliers before the current regulations expire on 31 March 2026. The SI also amends the Warm Home Discount (Scotland) Regulations 2022, to increase suppliers’ non-core spending obligation by an amount considered to be commensurate to the expected increase in England and Wales. The SI is a result of a consultation in February 2025 in which we proposed to remove the “high cost to heat” threshold, which can mean that families in almost identical circumstances are treated differently, with some receiving the rebate while others miss out. The current system also excludes many households in smaller properties because the home is not classified as “high cost to heat”. Removing the “high cost to heat” threshold will make all energy bill payers who receive a qualifying means-tested benefit eligible for the warm home discount. It would bring around 2.7 million additional households into the scheme, pushing the total number of households receiving the support to around 6 million—one in five households in the UK. Before I conclude, I must draw Members’ attention to the correction slip published on 4 July. It corrects a typo on page 3 of the draft regulations, from “Her Majesty’s” to “His Majesty’s”. In conclusion, the regulations will make the necessary legislative changes to expand the warm home discount so that it reaches an extra 2.7 million households at a time when families are struggling with their energy bills and absolutely need that vital support. I commend the regulations to the Committee.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Draft Warm Home Discount (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his contribution to this debate. He is nothing but consistent, which is about the only upside that I can speak about. He and the Conservative party have some cheek trying to lecture the Government on energy bills being too high, given that they oversaw record energy bills and an anergy crisis. I will address his points and then talk about this important intervention that we are taking forward. Clean power and our drive to sprint to clean power is not ideological. It is a recognition and a response to the fact that energy bills reached sky high prices because of our dependence on global fossil fuel markets. We saw that during the energy crisis that the Conservative party presided over. Families and businesses across the country have been paying the price of that. That party was happy with that reality, but it is not one that we are willing to confront.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Draft Warm Home Discount (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  We have had this conversation over and over again. What I would say is that we are very clear that we are on a rollercoaster, with fossil fuel prices driving energy bills up and down. We are absolutely committed to dealing with that. We are also absolutely committed to reducing energy bills, which went up and up under the last Government. We will not allow that to happen: we have made a commitment to reduce energy bills by £300 by the end of this Parliament and we are doing the job of making that happen. I come back to the fact that we have to wean ourselves off fossil fuels. The proposition from the Conservative side, to the extent that it is a proposition, is completely wanting and unrealistic. Families and businesses across the country would be saddled with high prices that were a function of our being on this rollercoaster. We are not willing to contend with such a reality, so we are taking measures. The shadow Minister says that he wants to see more nuclear, but there was not a single expansion of nuclear under the last Government: 14 years absolutely wasted. We are doing the job of getting to clean power in order to reduce energy bills—

• 14 Jul 2025 · Draft Warm Home Discount (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  I give way first to the shadow Minister.

• 14 Jul 2025 · Draft Warm Home Discount (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Mr Dowd, for bringing us back to sanity and the regulations that we are talking about today. We all came into politics to make sure that vulnerable people were not left behind. We know that people are struggling with energy bills and that progress on fuel poverty stalled under the last Government—a complete shame. We are committed to responding to that. The regulations are an important first step. They mean that we can expand the support to 6 million people—one in five households—at a time when we know they absolutely need it. I am incredibly proud that the Labour side of the House is taking this action. I commend the regulations to the Committee. Question put and agreed to.

• 8 Jul 2025 · Draft Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) (Amendment) Order 2025 · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) (Amendment) Order 2025. The draft order was laid before the House on 11 June 2025. This Government are committed to delivering warmer homes that are cheaper to heat. That is not just a slogan—although I say it quite a lot—but a necessity for millions of households across the country. At the heart of that mission is our warm homes plan, a bold, long-term strategy to cut energy bills, tackle fuel poverty and strengthen our energy security. I am proud that the plan has been backed by £13.2 billion of investment by the Chancellor. The funding will support the roll-out of solar panels, heat pumps, batteries and insulation to reduce bills and tackle fuel poverty. To deliver that ambition, however, we must ensure that existing schemes are working as hard as they can for the people who need them most. That is why we are introducing this draft statutory instrument. The energy company obligation, ECO4, and the great British insulation scheme, GBIS, have been a key part of the effort to upgrade homes across the country. They impose obligations on the larger energy suppliers to achieve annual bill savings for households by upgrading the energy efficiency of their homes. The draft instrument introduces important changes to improve the performance of the schemes for their duration. The legislation makes targeted, practical changes to both ECO4 and GBIS. Those changes will enable suppliers to meet their obligations, while maintaining high standards and delivering better outcomes for consumers. The most significant change is to allow up to 75% of an energy supplier’s GBIS target to be met through reassigned ECO4 delivery. That is not just moving the goalposts; it is the most pragmatic approach to enable energy suppliers to meet their GBIS targets while maximising bill savings for households and the number of homes treated within the original GBIS cost envelope. In reassigning bill savings from ECO4 to GBIS, we will apply a conversion factor to enable GBIS to come in on time, on target and on budget. Crucially—I stress this—the changes will not increase consumer bills. They use existing funding already accounted for under the Ofgem price cap. There is no additional cost to households. If we did not act, the GBIS scheme would severely underdeliver and thousands of households would miss out on crucial energy efficiency upgrades. Alongside that, we are making other important improvements: updating technical standards to reflect the latest best practice; enabling more flexible combinations of insulation measures, especially for low-income households; and encouraging smart meter uptake, helping people to take control of their energy use. The changes are not just administrative; they are essential to meeting our fuel poverty target to ensure that as many fuel-poor homes as reasonably practicable reach an energy efficiency rating of band C by 2030. The changes also support the continuity of the energy efficiency supply chain, protect value for money for bill payers and ensure that the benefits of the energy transition are shared fairly. I now turn to the critical issue of consumer protection. On 23 January, I informed the House of the discovery of widespread non-compliance with industry standards in the installation of solid-wall insulation under the ECO4 and GBIS schemes. As soon as my Department was made aware of the issues, we worked at pace to establish an expanded programme of checks, which I asked Ofgem to oversee. I am pleased to report that those checks have progressed quickly and, where issues have been identified, they are already being resolved. Alongside the checks is a comprehensive plan to remedy any poor-quality installations. Where substandard work is identified, it is the installer’s responsibility to put it right at no cost to the consumer. I am pleased to report that, as of last month, 90% of all the issues identified as being not up to standard at the time that I was alerted to this matter had already been fully remediated. We need to do a huge amount more to reach the standards that we want across industry and to do the key job of ensuring and maintaining consumer confidence, but we are absolutely committed to doing what is necessary. We inherited a situation in which many organisations with different roles and responsibilities are involved in assuring the quality of retrofit activity, which results in a fragmented and confusing system of protection for consumers. We are pressing ahead with large-scale reforms through our warm homes plan, which we are committed to sharing in October. Members can be assured that the draft order will enact important changes to ECO4 and GBIS so that they can continue effectively to deliver warmer homes that are cheaper to heat.

• 8 Jul 2025 · Draft Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) (Amendment) Order 2025 · Hansard source

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  I thank the shadow Minister for his support for these important technical standards. I will address his question and then reiterate why we believe that the proposed changes are so important. It is incredibly important to stress that levies on bills are funding critical infrastructure. We inherited a situation of under-investment in our networks and transmission and, critically, in the energy mix that we need in order to diversify our energy supply and ensure energy security. That was the Conservative legacy. We are now fixing it, which requires investment, but we are absolutely clear that every pound of investment has to be combined with a very clear plan to get to clean power. That is important because the last five years have shown us that our dependence on fossil fuel markets has left consumers exposed; people have faced record energy bills because of it. The Conservatives were happy with that when they were in government, but it is not something that we are happy with, which is why we are committed to getting to clean power.

• 8 Jul 2025 · Draft Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) (Amendment) Order 2025 · Hansard source

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  It was clear to us, but sadly we were not in government. It should have been clear to the Conservatives, and they did absolutely nothing over 15 years. We are committed to getting bills down—they are coming down—and we will take action through our clean power plan to break our dependence. Alongside energy security, we are clear that upgrading homes is the way to ensure that the benefits of clean power filter through to consumers. Taking us back to the technical change made by the draft order, we need to ensure that we are doing what we need to, with all the levers we have, from the obligation on suppliers to our capital schemes, in order that households can have the insulation, solar panels, batteries, clean heat solutions and so on that will drive their bills down. Millions of households are in fuel poverty, people across the country are feeling the pinch of a runaway energy system that is broken and is not working for them, and we are exposed to global fossil fuel markets. We are clear about our determination to fix the mess that we inherited and drive upgrades across the country, through both the obligations that we are discussing today and a warm homes plan backed by £13.2 billion of investment, which will deliver the objective of 5 million households upgraded, with cheaper bills and warmer homes. I commend the draft order to the Committee. Question put and agreed to .