Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Energy Efficiency: Council Leaseholders and Social Homes

Tuesday 29 April 2025 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial commitment to provide energy-efficient upgrades for low-income households.
  • Local authorities will play a critical role in the Government's warm homes plan.
  • Government highlights progress in energy performance ratings for council homes since 2010.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Tulip Siddiq Lab Hampstead and Highgate
Housing Energy
Context

The MP highlighted the urgent need for energy-efficient upgrades in housing estates, citing constituents' struggles with outdated heating systems that leave them without essential services. She referenced Camden Council's plans to upgrade energy efficiency but noted a lack of resources.

Question

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 This could not have come too soon for my vulnerable constituents who are living on housing estates with outdated energy systems that sometimes leave them without hot water and heating for months on end.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?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Local authorities will have a critical role to play in our warm homes plan. Under our warm homes schemes, we are offering substantial support to enable low-income households to transition to clean heat. For example, our warm homes social housing fund allows grant recipients to receive an additional £7,500 clean heat upgrade, and under our warm homes local grant, £15,000 is being provided on top of the baseline to enable all households, particularly low-income households, to benefit from clean heat.

Answered
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Q2 Graham Stuart Con Beverley and Holderness
Housing Energy
Context

The MP questioned the Minister about the improvement in energy efficiency ratings for council homes from 2010 to the present, contrasting it with Labour's tenure. He cited statistics showing improvements under Conservative leadership.

Question

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?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)

I welcome the right hon. Member’s commitment to our plans to upgrade homes. However, he is trying to rewrite history, because when we look at the record of the previous Government, we see many failures, but the most abject and egregious was the failure to insulate enough homes to ensure that households were protected from price rises. That is the Conservatives’ legacy, and it is one we are determined to turn around. That is why we are committed to upgrading millions of homes across the country.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Commitment to a faster rate of improvement was not directly addressed; instead the Minister defended her party's record.

How: Deflecting Towards Past Failures, Comparing With Previous Government

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