Oral Answers to Questions

Torsten Bell Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Luke Murphy (Basingstoke) (Lab)]

7. If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of living standards on the economy.

[The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Torsten Bell)]

Rising living standards are the ultimate goal of economic policy, and living standards are now rising following the unprecedented fall during the last Parliament. The latest data shows that the average person’s real disposable income is £800 higher than in the final year of the previous Parliament.

[Luke Murphy]

As the Minister says, the previous Parliament was the worst on record for living standards, so my constituents—for many of whom the cost of living is the No.1 issue—welcome the action taken to freeze rail fares, which will save them £350 on average, and to take £150 off their energy bills, as well as today’s groundbreaking commitment to cap ground rent, which we will hear about later. Will he confirm that the Government will continue to strain every sinew, clear every obstacle and use the power of government to cut the cost of living and raise living standards for my constituents over the course of this Parliament?

[Torsten Bell]

My hon. Friend is a powerful campaigner on this issue; week after week, he consistently raises the issue of living standards for people in Basingstoke. He is right to highlight the key role of energy bills in that. The Budget took levies off energy bills to save families £150 on average next year, as part of wider measures to directly cut inflation by 0.4 percentage points, further supporting living standards by making it easier for banks to cut mortgage rates and giving businesses the confidence to invest. Energy bills cut, ground rents cut—change promised, change delivered.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

What assessment has the Minister made of the recent trends in household living standards across the United Kingdom, including through discussions with the relevant Minister in Northern Ireland? What steps has his Department taken, in conjunction with regional Administrations, to ensure that the Northern Ireland Executive can support households facing rising costs? I know that the Minister gives lots of answers, so will he give us an answer on this one, please?

[Torsten Bell]

We will always give the hon. Member an answer—and I mean always, at every single one of these sessions. Government Ministers, particularly at the Northern Ireland Office, spend a lot of time speaking to Ministers in Northern Ireland. He is absolutely right to say that the cost of living crisis affects not just one part but all parts of the United Kingdom. To take just one example, the six interest rate cuts since the general election have already made a big difference to those in Northern Ireland whose mortgage renewal is coming up.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Richard Fuller (North Bedfordshire) (Con)]

Persistently high inflation and fears that things will get tougher for their children are top issues for the British public, but the Office for Budget Responsibility’s assessment of Labour’s plans was that:

“Growth in real household disposable income per person is projected to fall… to around ¼ per cent a year… well below the last decade’s average”.

Minister, why is the sum of all this Government’s economic policies condemning the British public to such a despairing prospect?

[Torsten Bell]

Mr Speaker, that is called leading with your chin. Members on the Conservative Benches were in power in the last Parliament, which saw living standards fall by 2.9%. Living standards have already risen under this Government by 1.5%, because we are turning around their mess day after day after day.

[Dave Robertson (Lichfield) (Lab)]

8. What steps she is taking to providing funding for rail infrastructure.

--- Later in debate ---

[Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)]

21. What fiscal steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce energy bills.

[The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Torsten Bell)]

Energy bills are too high, and Britain is too dependent on the rollercoaster of gas prices. That is why the autumn Budget reduced the cost of levies on energy bills to save households £150 on average from April this year.

[Sally Jameson]

I am pleased that the Government are sticking to their pledge on reducing energy bills, as the Minister rightly points out, with an average of £150 coming off annual bills this April. Does he agree that that is a good start, but that we must continue to work across Departments to ensure that we make further progress on the cost of living in this Parliament?

[Torsten Bell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: people need to see inflation come down, and that is what the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Bank of England forecast to happen. As she said, from April our plans for energy bills will save households £150 on average, which is something she has campaigned for over the past 18 months. I am pleased energy companies have confirmed that those savings will be passed on to those with fixed tariffs. She asks that we go further, and I should add that we have extended the £150 warm home discount to a further 2.7 million of the poorest households.

[Anna Dixon]

I warmly welcome the Chancellor’s announcement in the Budget on scrapping the energy company obligation scheme, which will bring down energy bills by £150 on average and support some 5,000 households living in fuel poverty in my constituency of Shipley. The disastrous Tory-designed scheme, ECO4, cost £1 billion per year, yet 98% of the external wall cavity installations were faulty. What further action are the Minister and Chancellor taking to reduce energy bills and ensure that energy companies put people over profit?

[Torsten Bell]

My hon. Friend is entirely right. The Conservatives did not just leave Britain dependent on the rollercoaster of gas prices; they left families paying almost £2 billion on their bills for their failed energy efficiency ECO scheme. The Chair of the Public Accounts Committee described the scheme’s failings as the “worst” he had ever seen. That fuel poverty scheme cost 97% of those in fuel poverty more than it saved them, and it damaged thousands of homes. We are scrapping the ECO scheme, and cutting families’ bills.

[Mr Peter Bedford (Mid Leicestershire) (Con)]

A new report by the Prosperity Institute is highly critical of the Government’s net zero policies and their adverse impact on the broader economy, and my constituents’ fuel bills continue to soar because of the Government’s reluctance to use more traditional sources of fuel. Will the Minister commit to raising that with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, because such ideologically driven polices are having an adverse impact on the bills of my constituents?

[Torsten Bell]

Energy bills are too high because the Tory party left us dependent on the rollercoaster of gas prices. Wholesale gas prices today remain more than double what they were at the start of 2020. If Conservative Members think that is some kind of advert for staying on gas forever, they are living in cloud cuckoo land.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest) (Con)]

We have already heard this morning that businesses are suffering harm from business rates and national insurance contributions going up, but on top of that, according to the Office for National Statistics, the energy bills of non-energy intensive industries such as hospitality and retail have increased under this Government by up to 10% in the last year. The Conservative are proposing our cheap power plan, which would save small businesses up to £5,000 a year on their energy bills. What is the Minister doing to help small businesses with their energy bills?

[Torsten Bell]

What this Government are doing is getting on with building the energy infrastructure that this country needs, and we are not going back to the 11% inflation seen under the Conservative party. This Government are supporting small businesses, because the hon. Gentleman is right on one thing, which is that high energy bills are not in the interests of British industry. That is why we are getting on with fixing the energy system that we inherited.

[Lillian Jones (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab)]

12. What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department’s policies of the final report of the Covid Counter-fraud Commissioner, published on 9 December 2025.

--- Later in debate ---

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

T9. I heard the Minister’s words to the hon. Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) about the energy company obligation 4 scheme, but the vague promise in the warm homes plan to put right poor-quality work under ECO4 seems like empty words to my constituents who are affected. Will the Treasury consider the only viable alternative to this disastrous scheme, which is redress?

[The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Torsten Bell)]

That is an important question, because too many people have been let down by the scheme that was introduced by the Conservatives. I am sure that the hon. Lady noted the Energy Secretary’s announcement last week about the £15 billion warm homes plan, which will ensure that work to upgrade the quality of British homes continues in the years ahead for all households, but particularly for low-income households. She will also be aware that ongoing remediation work will take place as part of that scheme.

[Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough and Thornaby East) (Lab)]

T10. Ben Houchen’s Teesworks saga has seen more than half a billion pounds of taxpayers’ money funnelled into enriching a few business people, while the opportunity for a sovereign wealth fund investment programme has been squandered. What steps are being taken to ensure that there is meaningful investment for economic growth and development in Teesside?

--- Later in debate ---

[Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)]

Earlier this month, the House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee published a report on private markets, highlighting the potential risks to economic stability, and the Bank of England has also undertaken a stress test of the ecosystem. What actions is the Minister considering taking with regulators to strengthen transparency and oversight of private markets, so that we can mitigate any systemic risks?

[Torsten Bell]

My hon. Friend is right that the rise in private markets has brought benefits, including to growth and financial stability—we have discussed that many times in the context of pensions—but it does come with new risks. The Treasury and regulators have increased their focus on those risks in the non-bank sector in recent years and, as I am sure he is aware, have played a leading role in the response to emerging non-banks’ risks internationally. In particular, the Government emphasised in the November remit letter to the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee that the committee should continue to consider risks in private markets. We are considering the House of Lords Committee’s recommendations, and will respond in due course.

[Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)]

At the weekend, Storm Ingrid caused the sea wall at Dawlish to collapse in two new places, and we wait to see the damage caused by Storm Chandra today. Both storms are once again exposing the vulnerability of the main rail line to Devon and Cornwall, which is vital for the local economy. Given the reported lack of a Treasury emergency reserve, can the Chancellor guarantee contingency funding for any urgent and unplanned resilience work required and not covered by a fiscal event?