I am pleased to see the Government’s commitment to provide thousands of low-income households with energy-efficient upgrades. This could not have come too soon for my vulnerable constituents who are living on housing estates with outdated energy systems that sometimes leave them without hot water and heating for months on end. Camden Council, which I know the Minister knows well, has plans to upgrade the energy efficiency of those estates, but in many cases it just does not have the resources to replace the heating systems with heat pumps, which would lower bills and carbon emissions even further. What assurances can the Minister give me that local authorities will be given the support necessary to deliver the energy upgrades to the highest possible level?

I know how on top of her brief the Minister is, so will she confirm that fewer than a third of council homes had an energy performance certificate C rating in 2010 compared with over 70% by last year? Less than 12% of homes in the UK had decent insulation in 2010 when Labour last left office and when the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Ed Miliband), who is chuntering from a sedentary position, was in power, and more than 50% did by the time we left office. Will she commit to a faster rate of improvement under this Government than we ever saw under the previous Labour Government?