Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Fossil Fuels and Cost of Living Increases

11 January 2023 · 9 other contributors · 14,840 words

Opened by Caroline Lucas Green Brighton, Pavilion

Responding minister: Graham Stuart

ClimateEnergyEnvironment

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Caroline Lucas raised concerns about fossil fuels and cost of living increases in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • Ms Lucas expressed concern about the impact of high energy bills on over 9 million people who spent Christmas in cold and damp homes.
  • Ms Lucas asked the Minister to commit to providing further support for vulnerable households facing increased energy bills starting in April.
  • Ms Lucas urged the Government to introduce a street-by-street home insulation programme to improve energy efficiency.

Key requests to Government

Ms Lucas asked the Minister to commit to providing further support for vulnerable households given the increase in bills from April. She also called for a ban on forced installation of prepayment meters by court warrant and expressed concern about the lack of emphasis on energy efficiency measures, urging the Government to introduce a street-by-street home insulation programme.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Caroline Lucas Green Brighton, Pavilion

Ms Lucas expressed concern about the impact of fossil fuels on both the cost of living crisis and the climate emergency. She highlighted that over 9 million people spent Christmas in cold and damp homes due to high energy bills, with experts warning that gas prices are here to stay. She also mentioned a significant increase in health risks for those with cardiovascular or respiratory conditions unable to afford heating their homes. Ms Lucas noted the shocking fact that one-third of people with disabilities live in cold, damp homes and 25% of those with health conditions cannot heat their homes safely.

Other contributors (9)
  • Alyn Smith SNP Edinburgh Northern and Leith

    I agreed with the hon. Lady on the importance of energy efficiency and suggested that those reliant on heating oil could benefit most from transitioning to renewables and greater efficiency.

  • Cat Smith Lab Lancaster and Wyre

    Ms. Smith expressed concerns about the government's lack of emphasis on climate change, criticizing the approval of new oil and gas licences despite international climate obligations. She highlighted the need for renewable energy projects and criticized the short-term financial support without addressing long-term issues.

  • Derek Thomas Con St Ives

    Mr. Thomas highlighted the urgent need to improve home energy efficiency in his constituency, which has some of the leakiest homes in the UK. He pointed out that inefficient homes contribute to high energy costs and fuel poverty, impacting education outcomes, health services, and disposable incomes for families. He suggested a grassroots approach, possibly local authority-led, to identify and implement improvements efficiently. Mr. Thomas also questioned the effectiveness of current EPC ratings and proposed reviewing their methodology. He raised concerns about landlords converting long-term rental properties into short-term lets due to difficulty in achieving higher EPC standards. Additionally, he urged for guidance on improving listed buildings' energy efficiency without compromising their aesthetic value.

  • Kerry McCarthy Lab Bristol East

    The hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion reflected on the global fight against fossil fuels and detailed issues affecting her constituents. She highlighted concerns over prepayment meters and self-disconnection. Kerry noted the construction of 1 million homes since 2016 that do not meet energy standards and questioned the Government's argument about domestic fossil fuel extraction being green.

  • Patrick Grady SNP Glasgow North

    I thanked the hon. Lady for securing the debate and highlighted heartbreaking stories from constituents about children seeing their breath in the morning due to cold houses, calling for an end to new oil and gas exploration.

  • Peter Grant SNP Fife North East

    I congratulated the hon. Member for securing the debate, highlighting the need for better insulation in UK homes over nuclear power stations, arguing that investing in home insulation would save more energy than a new nuclear station could produce. Mr. Grant highlighted the need for honesty in addressing climate change and its impact on housing, transport, and the economy. He emphasized that tackling climate change will be difficult and costly but necessary to avoid worse outcomes. He discussed past economic booms in his constituency due to coal mining and oil and gas industries, which did not benefit local communities as much as they should have. Mr. Grant also addressed the current energy crisis, stating it is a result of long-term failure and requiring immediate emergency help for those affected by rising fuel costs. I point out that the Government has misrepresented our position on immediate cessation of fossil fuel production. We urge a halt to the rapid increase in oil and gas extraction, given that the UK exports energy despite its needs.

  • Philip Dunne Con North West Norfolk

    I congratulated the hon. Lady on her contributions and suggested that when responding to our committee's report, the Government should clarify the terms of reference for the energy efficiency taskforce to accelerate mobilisation. I suggested commending the Minister on allowing contracts for difference for tidal energy systems to provide renewable baseload electricity supply. In his intervention, Philip Dunne highlighted a concerning issue in his constituency where social landlords are faced with high renovation costs to meet the legal requirement of an EPC rating of at least E. This leads them to propose selling the property and evicting tenants, leaving no alternative accommodation for those displaced.

  • Wendy Chamberlain Lib Dem North East Fife

    The MP apologised for missing the start of the debate and agreed with the hon. Lady's speech about contradictions in Government policies, particularly regarding a business in her constituency needing support to make green investments and move away from fossil fuels dependency.

  • Wera Hobhouse Lib Dem Bath

    I questioned why the Government have £13.6 billion for fossil fuel companies but no money for working people, suggesting that oil and gas subsidies should be phased out entirely.

Government Response

Graham Stuart

I congratulate the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion on securing this important debate and I thank other hon. Members for sharing their constituents' thinking on fossil fuels and the cost of living. The minister argues that three quarters of our energy comes from fossil fuels, a global shortage of which is driving up prices, causing the current cost of living crisis. He highlights that the UK is decarbonising faster than any other G7 country but will still need oil and gas until 2050 due to ongoing demand. The minister criticises ideological opposition to nuclear energy as clean baseload power. He discusses the importance of domestic production over imports, citing lower emissions from domestically produced gas compared to imported liquid natural gas (LNG). There are currently 120,000 jobs dependent on oil and gas, mostly in Scotland, and incentivising greener operations is essential for environmental and economic reasons. The minister addresses misconceptions about subsidies for the industry and highlights that even with net zero targets met in 2050, a quarter of current gas demand will still exist. The minister also outlines progress on energy efficiency, noting improvements from 14% to 46% of homes having an EPC C or above since 2010. He commits to establishing an energy efficiency taskforce and emphasises the importance of transitioning expertise in offshore operations towards carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen production, and other green initiatives. The minister praises Britain's leadership in tackling climate change globally through COP presidency but acknowledges areas for improvement. Addressing specific concerns raised during the debate, he notes that Ofgem has rules to prevent forced fitting of prepayment meters except as a last resort. He commits to raising the issue of warrants with the Ministry of Justice and outlines plans for the energy efficiency taskforce's terms of reference and membership soon. The minister concludes by highlighting the Chancellor's target to reduce energy demand by 15% by 2030.

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