Topical Questions

Question

Latest figures by National Energy Action show that there are still 1,875 homes in my constituency with legacy prepayment meters. What action are the Government taking to remove this costly burden on families?

Question

I welcome Ofgem's ongoing review of standing charges in electricity bills. In the North Wales and Merseyside region, the standing charge is 67.04p per day, compared to an average of 60.10p across the UK. Will the Minister commit to coming back to the House to provide further comment on this geographical variation once Ofgem has published the findings of its review?

Question

The National Infrastructure Commission said that the Government have reversed some progress on net zero. The right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) said that the Government's roll-back on net zero has put off investors. A member of the Climate Change Committee has said that we are “not ready at all” for the impact of extreme weather on our national security. Mad, bad and dangerous. Will the Secretary of State finally back Great British Energy and the national wealth fund instead of lurching from crisis to crisis, not having a plan and selling out Britain?

Question

I know the Secretary of State understands the importance of safeguarding good agricultural land for food production. Will she update my constituents in Inkberrow and Stock Green on what more she is doing to ensure that solar panels are placed on car park and warehouse rooftops, which we have an ample number of in my constituency?

Question

Private investors are queuing up to make billions of pounds of investment in the green industries of the future, but under this Government, that money has flowed abroad. Under Energy UK's projections, the UK is now eighth out of eight major countries for renewable investment up to 2030. How have the Government allowed that to happen?

Question

The switch to electric cars and vans is crucial for improving air quality and reaching net zero. Will the Government update us on action being taken to deliver charging points in the right places, in consultation with residents?

Question

Will the Minister confirm whether the Government have dropped their commitment to consulting on a social energy tariff? If they have not, can we have an update on progress, given that a social energy tariff would lift 2.2 million households out of poverty?

Question

While it is important that we support renewable energy sources, does the Minister agree with me that solar panels should go on rooftops, not on farmland?

Question

Does the Minister think that a regulator that allows the poorest to pay the highest bills, and that has overseen the doubling of energy bills since 2021 and the collapse of 30 energy companies in the same period, is fit for purpose?

Question

My constituency is home to Scout Moor, one of the largest onshore wind farms in Europe, but the north-west also has amazing potential for offshore wind; an example is the Morgan and Morecambe development off the coast of Lancashire. Such projects require huge amounts of infrastructure to be realised. Notwithstanding the reassurances that my right hon. Friend has already given, will she ensure that community consent is part of any infrastructure projects of this kind?

Question

Under Ofgem's price cap, which has just come into effect, people with the most poorly insulated rural homes can expect to pay an additional £340 on their annual energy bills. Will the Minister expand insulation schemes, particularly for people living in rural areas?

Question

Hydrogen is the only viable alternative to natural gas for a balanced, reactive and carbon-zero electricity grid. The UK has 32 gas power plants, all of which could be cheaply and easily retrofitted to burn hydrogen as a natural gas. What is the Department doing to encourage this sort of retrofitting, so that we can allow technologies to decarbonise electricity generation and take advantage of the many benefits of hydrogen?

Question

In the last 12 months, one in five households, or one in four young households, in energy debt have turned to illegal money lenders to help pay for bills and everyday essentials. The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has stated that the crisis could mean that young households spend years at the mercy of these loan sharks. What assessment has the Minister made of the merits of working with Ofgem and energy suppliers in order to introduce support to alleviate this record-high energy debt?

Question

Like others, I welcome what the Government have already done to extend the permitted development rights for rooftop solar and car park canopies, but may I encourage my hon. Friend to tell others in Government who have responsibility for planning that there are considerable benefits to car park canopies, particularly in hotter summers?

Question

There has indeed been a significant increase in domestic insulation schemes in recent years. However, will the Minister agree to increase the number of conversations with devolved institutions, so that we can see a genuinely nationwide revival of insulation schemes that, individually, can do more to reduce the dependency on high energy costs for those at maximum risk, in social housing and elsewhere?

Question

Given the floating offshore wind manufacturing investment scheme funding recently awarded to Wales, can the Minister please advise me on when A&P Falmouth will be put on the reserve list? The Minister has promised to meet me on several occasions. Can I ask that we expedite that much as possible?

Question

Community energy can deliver so many renewable energy products and save on energy bills. Last year in Bath, a community energy project putting rooftop solar on schools saved schools £130,000. When will the Government remove the barriers to community energy?

Question

As we go to net zero, surely we also need to retain our sense of human rights. Polysilicon mostly comes from Xinjiang, where it is mined using slave labour. To what extent are we prepared to say that net zero trumps slave labour, and are we checking on slave labour products in the arrays?

Question

My constituent from Govanhill is being passed backwards and forwards between Utilita Energy and the Department for Work and Pensions. He receives income-related employment and support allowance and should be entitled to the warm home discount, but neither Utilita nor the DWP is able to give him the money he is entitled to. He applied in September last year. Will the Minister intervene and make sure he gets the money he is due?

Question

I put on record my heartfelt thanks to the Secretary of State and the Minister for Nuclear and Renewables for the action they took last week to put food security, alongside renewable energy, at the heart of local planning decisions. What are the Government doing to ensure that all councils immediately enact that policy, because it is both for local councils and for Government? Will existing soil assessments stand for nationally significant infrastructure projects, or will they be redone?

Question

Tapadh leat, Mr Speaker. Zonal pricing has the potential to lower bills for households from Sussex to Shetland, from Stonehaven to the great town of Stornoway. Of course some vested interests will be concerned, such as energy generating companies that are benefiting from the constraint payments raised from customer bills. What are the Government doing to stimulate debate and knowledge about zonal pricing?

Question

A key tool in our arsenal against climate change must be sequestering carbon. It was a pleasure last week to see the Morecambe bay net zero peak cluster vision launched, which could decarbonise 40% of our cement and lime industries, securing a gigatonne of carbon under Morecambe bay. Can I encourage my hon. Friend the Minister to meet me to discuss the project further?

Question

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Now that the Government have recognised the importance of versatile and productive agricultural land in respect of solar, will they recognise too the threat of a monstrous string of pylons stretching right down the east coast of England? We either care about our green and pleasant land or we do not—for, as Keats understood, truth is beauty and beauty, truth.