Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Household Energy Bills

Tuesday 15 July 2025 · 3 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 3 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial focus on working with local authorities to address fuel poverty through renewable energy and home upgrades.
  • Minister acknowledges the need to reduce dependence on global fossil fuel markets to protect families from energy price volatility.
  • Government supports the principle of installing solar panels on new houses to combat climate change and address overheating issues.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Alex Brewer Lib Dem North East Hampshire
Energy Environment
Context

Alex Brewer raised concerns about high fuel poverty rates in his constituency and the need for local authorities to develop renewable energy generation.

Question

Almost 10% of people in my North East Hampshire constituency live in fuel poverty. I agree with the Minister that investing in renewable energy would help to tackle that, so how is she working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to empower local authorities to develop renewable energy generation locally—by following Europe’s lead in putting solar over car parks, for example—in order to make energy cheaper and more sustainable?

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

The hon. Member is right: there is a big push to work with local and regional authorities to ensure not only that we generate renewables that can impact on bills, but that we upgrade homes. Through local energy action plans, local authorities are, for the first time, working with the National Energy System Operator and other systems operators to drive that. Local and regional authorities have a crucial role to play in upgrading millions of homes across the country.

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Q2 Elsie Blundell Lab Heywood and Middleton North
NHS Energy Environment
Context

Elsie Blundell expressed concern about the uncertainty of global energy markets affecting her constituents, particularly those with low incomes.

Question

My Heywood and Middleton North constituents live in a state of profound uncertainty as to how the unpredictability of global energy markets will affect their families. Does the Minister agree that if we want to protect those families from volatility, we must end our reliance on global fossil fuel markets, and introduce targeted interventions to bring bills down, particularly for those on the lowest incomes?

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

My hon. Friend is right. It beggars belief that the Conservative party is so stuck in its ideological opposition to moving towards clean power. We are clear that we must break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets, which led to record energy bills during the energy crisis. We are making that sprint, but it is critical that we support the most vulnerable households while we make that transition, which is why I am so proud that this Government extended the warm home discount so that an extra 2.7 million households—one in five—will benefit this winter.

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Q3 Max Wilkinson Lib Dem Cheltenham
Climate Energy
Context

Max Wilkinson congratulated the government on embracing the principles of the sunshine Bill campaign and inquired about combining heat pump technology with solar panels to lower energy bills.

Question

I congratulate Ministers again on embracing the principles of the sunshine Bill campaign, run by me and many others to ensure that solar panels are included on the roofs of all new houses. In the heat of recent weeks, people in my constituency have been sweltering in beautiful old regency buildings, which pose a particular challenge in this respect. Do Ministers agree that if we line up heat pump technology and solar panels, we can lower our energy bills and keep cool at the same time?

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

The hon. Member is right. We believe in a solar panel revolution. That is one of the key things that Great British Energy will bring about across the country. On overheating, it will be critical to ensure that as we upgrade homes, we make them fit for purpose in the context of climate change. We are including air-to-air heat pumps in the boiler upgrade scheme, and we will consider other measures to keep homes cool.

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