Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Wheeler Excerpts

Tuesday 24th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Michael Wheeler (Worsley and Eccles) (Lab)]

T3. I welcome the upcoming drop next week in the energy price cap, which I know will help my constituents. With the Government’s focus on the cost of living, we are all concerned that events in the middle east will trigger a price shock in the market, making that work more difficult. Can the Minister outline what further steps the Government are taking to reduce my constituents’ energy bills?

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

I thank my hon. Friend for his important question. We are taking three additional measures. We are expanding and extending the warm home discount to 2031. We have supported heating oil customers with the £53 million-worth of support that was announced last week, and our £15 billion warm homes plan is the biggest home upgrade plan in British history. All of that is wrapped up in our clean energy mission—clean power 2030—which will ultimately give us control of our energy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Wheeler Excerpts

Tuesday 4th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[David Williams (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Lab)]

3. What discussions he has had with energy suppliers on support for consumers during winter 2024-25.

[Michael Wheeler (Worsley and Eccles) (Lab)]

9. What discussions he has had with energy suppliers on support for consumers during winter 2024-25.

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)]

11. What discussions he has had with energy suppliers on support for consumers during winter 2024-25.

--- Later in debate ---

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

My hon. Friend is right to point out that we need to reduce energy bills for businesses, including those in energy-intensive industries. I was sorry to hear about the job losses in his constituency, and one of the ministerial team will be happy to meet him. I must add, however, that this is exactly why we are running our clean power mission. We see that the route through which we can drive down bills is breaking our dependence on global fossil fuel markets over which we have no control, in order to take ourselves off the rollercoaster of price rises and price hikes that is so damaging to businesses. While we do that, we are working with Ofgem and industry to ensure that businesses are not being locked into expensive contracts, and to ensure that they have much stronger redress when things go wrong.

[Michael Wheeler]

I thank the Minister for all her work in this area. I know from conversations with my constituents that energy costs are a large part of the cost of living crisis for them. Following the Conservative party’s failure to protect our energy system and invest in home-grown clean power, can the Minister give us an update on what steps are being taken to tackle my constituents’ high energy bills?

[Miatta Fahnbulleh]

My hon. Friend is 100% right. The reason we are so exposed as a country to global fossil fuel markets and the rollercoaster that is damaging business and hurting consumers is the Conservative party’s failure to invest in home-grown clean power and to upgrade people's homes to insulate them from high prices. That is a record of which the Conservatives should be ashamed, and it is a record that we are determined to change.