PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Energy Bills: Support for Households - 3 September 2024 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

I welcome the hon. Member to his place. Since taking office, the Government have set up the clean energy mission board to enable progress towards the 2030 target. That will accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels to clean, home-grown power, and it will boost Britain’s energy independence and security. The Government will also set up a new publicly owned energy company, Great British Energy, which will save families money by ensuring that electricity bills are no longer exposed to gas price shocks, and a warm homes plan will improve energy efficiency in homes and cut bills.

Over the past few weeks, I have been inundated with questions from the people of Winchester about the cuts in the winter fuel allowance, and it seems as though people from all parts of the House are getting similar correspondence. Although I totally understand that there are many wealthy pensioners who do not rely on the winter fuel allowance to heat their homes, a large proportion of pensioners live on or near the poverty line and will be plunged into crisis this winter. Given the huge strength of feeling in all parts of the House, will the Chancellor reconsider her decision? If not, will she at least commit to a vote and a debate in the House about how we best protect our most vulnerable—

Order. Sorry, I have to get through the Order Paper. Put in for an Adjournment debate. Minister, I think you got the gist.

I thank the hon. Member for his comment, but as my right hon. Friend the Chancellor set out, the state pension is £900 more this year than it was last year, thanks to the triple lock. We have committed to maintaining the triple lock as the foundation of state support for pensioners throughout the rest of this Parliament. Energy bills are lower this year. It is crucial that he and other Members across the House support our goal to increase the take-up of pension credit. If we make sure that all pensioners who are eligible for pension credit take it up, they will thereby receive the other benefits, including the winter fuel payment, to which they are entitled.

I call the shadow Minister.

During the general election, the Labour party committed to bring down energy bills by £300. Now that the election is over, energy bills are going up by some 10%. On behalf of the British electorate, especially the 10 million pensioners who are having their winter fuel payment taken away, I ask the Minister to confirm to the House that the £300 cut is still Labour policy. If it is, specifically how is the £300 calculated, and when will it be delivered?

I thank the shadow Minister for his comment and welcome him to his new place. He referred to the cost of energy. As we know, the cost of energy is substantially lower than it was this time last year, but we are under no illusions about how much more we need to do to make sure that energy bills are truly affordable and that we tackle the cost of living crisis. That is why we have set to work straight away in establishing Great British Energy, alongside our national wealth fund, which will help to invest in the clean energy sources of the future and bring down energy bills for good.

I call the Lib Dem spokesperson.

We know that the Government have inherited a mess, and that at the centre of that mess is a £22 billion hole left in the public finances by the previous Government, but that cannot be allowed as cover for measures that cause suffering for the most vulnerable in society. The Chancellor will have heard Lib Dem colleagues talk about the hardship that the scrapping of the winter fuel allowance will mean for their constituents, so can she assure us that she will give her full support to measures to boost the uptake of pension credit? Most crucially, will she give the House the opportunity to have a proper debate and a vote on this cut, which will have such an impact on so many?

I thank the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for her comments and for recognising the state of the finances that we inherited—the £22 billion in-year black hole that we need urgently to address to put our finances on a firm footing. It is essential to boost the uptake of pension credit, as the Chancellor set out. Some 800,000 pensioners who are eligible for pension credit are not taking it up. We saw a lack of action under the previous Government to drive up that uptake, and we are overseeing a campaign across Government to increase the number of pensioners who access pension credit and thereby the winter fuel payment.

I welcome that response, but if the Government are asking us all to make difficult sacrifices, people need to know that the Government are making the vital investments that will protect the vulnerable and help to deliver economic growth. Does the Chancellor agree that now is the time to work across Government to launch an emergency home energy upgrade programme to provide free insulation and heat pumps for low-income households?

A crucial part of the manifesto commitments that we brought into Government is to increase the insulation of up to 5 million homes across the country. We will set out further details of our plans for insulation in due course, but we know that that is the kind of investment that brings down energy bills for good.