Oral Answers to Questions

Sadik Al-Hassan Excerpts

Tuesday 28th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Zöe Franklin (Guildford) (LD)]

5. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the conflict in the middle east on the cost of living.

[Sadik Al-Hassan (North Somerset) (Lab)]

8. What steps she has taken to help mitigate the potential impact of the conflict in the middle east on the economy.

[Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)]

17. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the conflict in the middle east on energy costs.

--- Later in debate ---

[Rachel Reeves]

I welcome the hon. Lady’s question. Like her, I regularly see pupils and local teachers in my constituency. As she knows, from this month we have got rid of the two-child limit in universal credit, which is lifting 450,000 children out of poverty. We are also expanding free childcare for children aged between nine months and five years, helping parents in work with the costs of balancing family life with work life. In addition, we have taken £117 off energy bills, we are freezing rail fares and prescription charges, and we are helping people—particularly those in rural areas—with the cost of heating oil.

[Sadik Al-Hassan]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor for her efforts in what are far from ideal circumstances. Attacks on energy infrastructure and the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz are having real consequences here at home. Baker Hughes employs more than 300 people in Nailsea in my constituency of North Somerset and is an essential energy technology provider. It is at the sharp end of this crisis. Can the Chancellor confirm what support the Government are providing to exposed companies like Baker Hughes, to secure energy supplies and rebuild damaged supply chains today, and invest in the infrastructure we will need to protect British consumers tomorrow?

[Rachel Reeves]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Baker Hughes, an important employer in his constituency, is a good example of how this conflict is affecting businesses and families here at home. As he knows, we have stepped in to defend our Gulf allies who have been attacked, unprovoked, by Iran. We are working with our allies in the Gulf, whom I speak to on a very regular basis, to ensure that we are not only defending them now but helping them to rebuild their infrastructure. Here in Britain, both the supercharger and the British industrial competitiveness scheme are helping businesses with the cost of their energy.