Martin McCluskey
MP for Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West · Labour · United Kingdom
“Member’s questions about the methodology and why we are, in his words, supporting heat batteries ahead of other forms of electric heating, the responses to the consultation we ran in 2025 showed broad support for expanding the scheme to additional electric technologies.”
House of Commons14 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It was only after that deliberation that we decided to include heat batteries in the boiler upgrade scheme. On his final question around the value of the £2,500 grant, we arrived at that number largely because it was judged to be the best amount, given the lower cost of heat batteries versus heat pumps.”
House of Commons14 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The draft regulations are an important enabling step towards the future inclusion of heat batteries within the scheme, helping to ensure that consumers can benefit from a wider range of low-carbon heating technologies.”
House of Commons14 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth to his new role. I am sure this will be the first of many Committees in which we will face each other. Turning to the hon. Member’s points, he obviously heard what I had to say yesterday about departmental budgets.”
House of Commons14 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I gently say to him that his party had 14 years in Government in which to reduce the spark gap and did not make much progress. Since we have been in Government, we have made sure that the reduction in levies has fallen heavily on the electricity bill rather than just on gas, and also adopted contracts for difference and encouraged compani…”
House of Commons14 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The draft regulations amend section 100 of the Energy Act 2008, which provides powers for the Secretary of State to establish “a scheme to facilitate and encourage renewable generation of heat” in England and Wales. At present, those powers apply only in relation to specified technologies and energy sources.”
House of Commons14 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
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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.”
House of Commons14 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons6 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons6 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons6 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons6 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons6 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons6 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons6 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons6 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons6 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons6 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons6 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It provides regulation proportionate to the size of Government’s ambitions for the heat network sector and its future growth.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons2 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons26 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons26 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons26 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons26 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons26 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons26 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons26 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons26 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons26 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons26 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons26 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons26 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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.”
House of Commons26 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am proud that this Labour Government are extending the warm home discount to an extra 2.7 million households, taking the total to nearly 6 million. This will make a vital difference to so many families this winter, including an approximate additional 350,000 households in the south-east.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I know that my hon. Friend will be doing all she can to encourage her constituents to sign up for these schemes and to ensure that as many households as possible take advantage of schemes like the warm homes local grant so that their houses are retrofitted and made fit for the future. We want people living in warm and dry homes, especially as we come through the winter. My hon. Friend might be interested to know that more than 3,200 households in her constituency have benefited from the warm home discount, and we expect even more to benefit this year with the expansion.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Like my hon. Friend, I am concerned about levels of energy debt, which I also see in my own constituency. Ofgem is continuing work on the debt strategy, which includes a number of measures, and we are looking at the potential introduction of a debt relief scheme. On the warm home discount, we need to balance the needs of those at risk of fuel poverty with the consideration that the warm home discount has an impact on bills; we need to ensure that we balance that out with current consumers. There is currently a consultation running on the scheme for 2026 to 2031, which closes next Thursday; I encourage my hon. Friend and her local organisations, such as Citizens Advice County Durham, to respond to that consultation.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Lady makes a pertinent point about the previous Government’s handling of some of the schemes. We are picking up the pieces and making sure that a similar situation does not and will not ever happen again. That is what we are absolutely focused on as we take this forward over the winter.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Lady makes a good point. As we look towards the future of the schemes, we are looking at how they can be applied to a range of different types of properties. I know that there have been particular issues with park homes, and I think she may have corresponded with me on that. I am more than happy to meet her to discuss how we take this forward and maybe remedy some of those issues in future schemes.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is astonishing that the shadow Secretary of State should come to the House and call vital support for people over the winter a “handout”. It is support for one in six people in this country, and thousands, or millions, of our constituents will take advantage of that support this winter. It is right that we should look to target support at those most in need. I am proud that this is a Government that will provide support, with £150 off bills for 6 million people this winter.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will not resile from the support that we are offering vulnerable households this winter. It is £150. On what the right hon. Lady says, how is any benefit provided in this country? It is provided by all of us pooling our resources to provide support to the most vulnerable. I am proud of that record. When it comes to her proposal over a carbon tax, let us look at the coalition that she has amassed against her: businesses, church leaders and others who have said that this is not a workable proposal and that it would cause more uncertainty for British businesses.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I was pleased to meet the hon. Gentleman yesterday to discuss some of the issues in his constituency. As we look at future schemes, we will look at how they can apply to different types of housing across the country. As for this winter, the support that we have put in place is the warm home discount, which is on offer to 6 million people across the country—that is one in six households—and comes to £150 off bills. That is the support we are offering this winter. If he has other suggestions about how the warm home discount should operate, as I said to my hon. Friend the Member for City of Durham (Mary Kelly Foy) earlier, a consultation is running that closes next Thursday and I encourage him and organisations in his constituency to respond to that.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We are reviewing the system of consumer protection and oversight for home retrofit installations, as the system we inherited is deeply flawed. We are committed to creating a simpler, stronger system of standards and oversight that will give consumers the confidence they deserve. We will consult on proposals for retrofit system reform early next year.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is fair to say that I am gripped by this problem, because without confidence in the consumer protection around the installation of these schemes, we will not hit the targets for clean power by 2030, nor create the warm and safe homes that we need. I appreciate the constructive manner in which the hon. Gentleman has addressed the issue. As I discussed with him last month, we are working with lenders and financial institutions to resolve the accessibility of some outstanding financial products, but it is now not the case that all lenders have a blanket ban—we are making some progress on that. We will conduct further assessments to quantify the extent of spray foam, and I am keen to work closely with the hon. Gentleman and others who have examples from their constituencies that can inform how we design the future system.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“When I came to this brief, I too was shocked at the extent of the failures of the external wall insulation scheme under ECO4. We have set out the actions that we are taking to ensure that properties are remediated at no cost to the householder. Looking to the future system, the three principles that I believe we should follow are that work should be done right the first time; the system should be simple and easy to navigate from the consumer’s point of view; and when things go wrong—I do not want them to, but when they do—there needs to be swift remediation through the system to ensure that it delivers for consumers.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We have set out our plans for clean power by 2030, which is the best way to get bills down for good. This winter, one in six households will receive the warm home discount—a £150 discount on energy bills for those who need it most.”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Member will have heard my earlier response regarding ECO4 and the appalling situation facing people across the country. To be very clear, all those affected by the ECO4 situation will receive letters offering them a free audit; many have already received those letters. I encourage hon. Members across the House to make sure that their constituents are taking up that offer, because that is the gateway to remediation. Earlier I set out the principles for designing the future system and ensuring that we do not get into a situation like this ever again. As for his final comment on—”
House of Commons18 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗