Oral Answers to Questions

Max Wilkinson Excerpts

Tuesday 15th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Elsie Blundell (Heywood and Middleton North) (Lab)]

22. What steps he is taking to help support low income families in the context of trends in the level of energy prices.

[Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham) (LD)]

23. What steps he is taking to help reduce household energy bills.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)]

We believe that the best way to protect households permanently is through our mission to deliver clean power by 2030. Combined with our warm homes plan to upgrade millions of homes across the country so that they are warmer and cheaper to run, that will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past. We know that we need to support people while we make that transition, which is why we are extending the warm home discount.

--- Later in debate ---

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

My hon. Friend is right. It beggars belief that the Conservative party is so stuck in its ideological opposition to moving towards clean power. We are clear that we must break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets, which led to record energy bills during the energy crisis. We are making that sprint, but it is critical that we support the most vulnerable households while we make that transition, which is why I am so proud that this Government extended the warm home discount so that an extra 2.7 million households—one in five—will benefit this winter.

[Max Wilkinson]

I congratulate Ministers again on embracing the principles of the sunshine Bill campaign, run by me and many others to ensure that solar panels are included on the roofs of all new houses. In the heat of recent weeks, people in my constituency have been sweltering in beautiful old regency buildings, which pose a particular challenge in this respect. Do Ministers agree that if we line up heat pump technology and solar panels, we can lower our energy bills and keep cool at the same time?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

The hon. Member is right. We believe in a solar panel revolution. That is one of the key things that Great British Energy will bring about across the country. On overheating, it will be critical to ensure that as we upgrade homes, we make them fit for purpose in the context of climate change. We are including air-to-air heat pumps in the boiler upgrade scheme, and we will consider other measures to keep homes cool.