Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Amanda Solloway and Helen Morgan(1 week, 5 days ago)
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Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
Amanda Solloway
I could not agree more that these pubs are at the heart of our communities, which is one reason why I have regular meetings with UKHospitality to think about how we can look at bills, including things such as blend and extend.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Amanda Solloway and Helen Morgan(2 months ago)
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Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Amanda Solloway)
I pay tribute to the hon. Member for her committed work to support her constituents living in rural areas. We have a proud record of energy efficiency. We are encouraging, rather than forcing, people to make the right choices, and we pushed back the ban on gas boilers while increasing the boiler upgrade scheme to £7,500, which is one of the most generous grants in Europe.
Helen Morgan
There are 1,858 listed properties in North Shropshire, according to the Listed Property Owners Club, and 24 conservation areas across our historical market towns and villages. That means that there is a large number of buildings that owners find it difficult to upgrade to make them energy-efficient. What conversations has the Minister had with her colleagues in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on enabling people to bring those homes into the 21st century and make them energy-efficient?
Amanda Solloway
The hon. Member makes a good point. We have those consultations across Departments, and local authorities in rural areas in England are eligible for grants. I can give my assurance that we have those cross-government meetings.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Amanda Solloway and Helen Morgan(11 months, 1 week ago)
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Amanda Solloway
I thank my hon. Friend for that question. Of course, I am always delighted to organise those meetings.
Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
Fuel Costs: Rural Households and Communities
Debate between Amanda Solloway and Helen Morgan(1 year, 1 month ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Amanda Solloway)
May I first say what an excellent speech that was, and what thought-provoking words have come from this debate? I express my gratitude to the hon. Member for Lanark and Hamilton East (Angela Crawley) for initiating the debate, and for her additional work on supporting rural households and communities.
The Government have implemented several comprehensive support schemes across the United Kingdom to assist our rural households and communities. In particular, I would like to address the issue of the support being provided in Scotland, given the importance of these communities to Scotland, as well as the wider United Kingdom. I am aware of the significant proportion of Scottish domestic properties not on the gas grid; as the hon. Member said, it is estimated to be about 65% of homes in rural Scotland. These communities face significant challenges. The number of households classed as being in extreme fuel poverty is about three times higher in rural areas than in the rest of Scotland. As hon. Members will know, many factors influence that, including a longer heating season, exposed conditions, and historically poor housing stock. As a result, the Government’s energy schemes have rightly offered much-needed support to rural communities over the winter in the face of high energy costs.
A range of domestic and non-domestic support has been provided to rural communities, and particularly off-grid users. The alternative fuels payment is available to households that use as their main heating source alternative fuels, such as heating oil or liquefied petroleum gas. That includes many Scottish rural households. More than 85% of relevant customers in Great Britain will have received their payment automatically via their electricity supplier in February 2023. Those who have not received the payment automatically will need to apply to the AFP alternative fund via a short online form on gov.uk.
Helen Morgan
On that point, I cannot reiterate enough how many people might not be able to access that online portal. I am aware that there is a phone number, but the messaging on and advertising of that number have been quite poor. Constituents have come to us asking about this, and we have pointed them in the right direction, but there will be people out there who are not aware that they can access that support, because they cannot get online.
Amanda Solloway
I thank the hon. Member for a very valid point. As she points out, we have been engaging. We have the helpline; we have a contact number. We are trying to reach out as much as possible. I encourage all hon. Members, on the record, to reach out and encourage people to go through the website portal or, indeed, through the helpline.
The energy bills support scheme is being delivered as a £400 discount on electricity bills, provided by suppliers in monthly instalments from October 2022 to March 2023. It has been delivered to 2.6 million households in Scotland. As March is almost over, may I use this opportunity to again urge hon. Members to join the Government in highlighting to their constituents that it is important that traditional prepayment meter users redeem their vouchers for that scheme now? Electricity suppliers can reissue expired or lost vouchers, but they must all be used by 30 June, when the scheme closes. It is vital that households in Scotland that use traditional prepayment meters and receive EBSS in the form of vouchers make use of the support being provided to them. Our latest transparency publication data shows that as of 1 March, almost 340,000 vouchers in Scotland remain unused—a point to which hon. Members have referred.
Households in Great Britain that do not have a domestic electricity supply, such as off-grid households and park home residents, and who have not been able to receive their support automatically, can now apply for their £400 support through the energy bills support scheme alternative funding. I encourage households that are eligible to apply for support before the scheme closes on 31 May 2023, either through the online application form on gov.uk, or by calling our contact centre helpline. I would be happy to share this information with MPs following the debate.
The final aspect of domestic support that we have provided is the energy price guarantee, which reduces electricity and gas costs for domestic customers. It helps to lower annual bills, combat fuel poverty and maintain supplier market stability. The scheme covers approximately 2.5 million households across Scotland and 29 million households across the UK in total. I hope the hon. Member for Lanark and Hamilton East was pleased to hear the recent announcement that the energy price guarantee will be kept at £2,500 for an additional three months from April to June, providing more savings to households.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Amanda Solloway and Helen Morgan(1 year, 1 month ago)
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Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Amanda Solloway)
The Department is talking to a range of stakeholders to assess evidence and options for a more targeted approach to consumer protection from April 2024.
Helen Morgan
More than 200,000 disabled households, including people in my constituency, lost out on the £150 warm home discount scheme due to a change in who the Government deem entitled to claim. Disabled people often require additional energy to run specialist equipment and to keep their homes warmer. Given that there is no appeals process, will the Minister agree to review that problem in the system and work with hon. Members to address it next year?
Amanda Solloway
The Government have been committed to supporting disabled people—a whole range of people—in the cost of living crisis. As I have mentioned, we will be meeting and discussing it.