Oral Answers to Questions
Sureena Brackenridge Excerpts(5 days, 3 hours ago)
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Sarah Jones
The North sea will continue to play an important role for years to come, which is why we are keeping existing fields open for their lifetime. This is a declining base, and the hon. Gentleman knows that. This is not where the jobs of the future will be. They will be in the clean energy transition, which we are investing in at pace; there have been huge announcements today on nuclear, and there are the spending review announcements to come. We are investing in the jobs of the future; he is stuck in the past.
Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
Happy birthday, Mr Speaker. We are extending the warm home discount to more than 6 million households, doubling the number of families that will get support this winter. That is the difference that a Labour Government make. We are providing support for those who need it while we sprint to clean power by 2030, so that we can get off the energy rollercoaster and bear down on bills for good.
Mrs Brackenridge
A very happy birthday to you, Mr Speaker. I welcome the extension of the warm home discount to all households on means-tested benefits from this winter. Many low-income households were excluded because their homes were not classed as having a high cost to heat. In Wolverhampton North East, only 18% of households benefited from the discount in 2023-24. Can the Minister confirm that the new scheme is simple, fair and focused on those who are most in need?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that really important point. I can confirm that we will remove the hard-to-heat criterion, which means that support will go to low-income households that we know need help with their energy bills.
Oral Answers to Questions
Sureena Brackenridge Excerpts(8 months, 1 week ago)
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Luke Myer (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)
Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)
The Minister for Industry (Sarah Jones)
The Government have two key missions: to become an energy superpower, and to grow the economy. Great British Energy will help us deliver on both those missions. The Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks), will be taking the Great British Energy Bill through Committee today, and I am excited for the job creation potential in our industrial communities. From engineers to welders, and from electricians to project managers, Great British Energy will be powered by people across all the nations and regions of this great country.
Sarah Jones
I agree with my hon. Friend, and I thank him for his support. I doubt anybody would disagree with him on the benefits of our announcements on carbon capture and storage, which will create 4,000 jobs in the short term, with carbon capture more broadly creating up to 50,000 jobs over the next decade or so. [Interruption.] The Opposition Front Benchers chuckle, but I wonder whether, instead of dismissing that number of jobs, they might welcome them alongside Government Members. Alongside carbon capture, Great British Energy, our national wealth fund and our British jobs bonus, we are putting in place the levers to encourage growth across our country, and the Climate Change Committee estimates that up to 725,000 net new jobs could be created in low-carbon sectors by 2030.
Mrs Brackenridge
Does the Minister agree that GB Energy is a fantastic opportunity for Wolverhampton North East to capitalise on the opportunities for research and start-ups on our forthcoming green innovation corridor and to put Wolverhampton North East back where we belong: at the heart of industrial growth and British industry?
Sarah Jones
I agree with my hon. Friend: it is a fantastic opportunity. Publicly owned Great British Energy will partner with industry to help us to deliver our mission of clean power by 2030. I have been reading about the green innovation corridor, and I am interested to see what it will deliver. Working in partnership with the private sector, we can rebuild jobs across the west midlands and far beyond.