Speeches by McCluskey.

“Happy new year to you, Mr Speaker, and to other hon. Members. I am proud that the Labour Government have extended the warm home discount to an extra 2.7 million households, extending the total to around 6 million. The Conservatives opposed that change. It will make a vital difference to so many families this winter, in…”

“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) (Amendment) Regulations 2025. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. Heat networks are a pivotal part of our mission to achieve net zero. They are proven to be the most affordable low carbon…”

“I am sure that, having experienced the original work on the 2023 Act, the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine has a firm grip of exactly what is in here. I am pleased to have been able to relieve him of the burden of the heat network regulations by taking on this role as Minister for Energy Consumers. On …”

“Rubbish.”

“I would be more than happy to look at that. I have been working to help develop the warm homes plan and am looking particularly at area-based approaches; one of the most effective is when entire communities and neighbourhoods are upgraded at once. The effect is much larger, and neighbours can see the impact on their bi…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I thank all hon. Members for their contributions today, and I thank particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon), not only for securing the debate, but for all her work on the Public Accounts Committee in scrutinising the ECO4 scandal. Over …”

“The letters will be sent, I think, from today. Many of those households will already have received knocks on the door or possibly direct contact from scheme providers. We are clear that the system needs to remediate this in the first instance. The issue was caused by the system, and there are guarantees available throu…”

“I was pleased to meet the hon. Gentleman yesterday to discuss some of the issues in his constituency. As we look at future schemes, we will look at how they can apply to different types of housing across the country. As for this winter, the support that we have put in place is the warm home discount, which is on offer …”

“I will not resile from the support that we are offering vulnerable households this winter. It is £150. On what the right hon. Lady says, how is any benefit provided in this country? It is provided by all of us pooling our resources to provide support to the most vulnerable. I am proud of that record. When it comes to h…”

“It is astonishing that the shadow Secretary of State should come to the House and call vital support for people over the winter a “handout”. It is support for one in six people in this country, and thousands, or millions, of our constituents will take advantage of that support this winter. It is right that we should lo…”

“The hon. Lady makes a good point. As we look towards the future of the schemes, we are looking at how they can be applied to a range of different types of properties. I know that there have been particular issues with park homes, and I think she may have corresponded with me on that. I am more than happy to meet her to…”

“The hon. Lady makes a pertinent point about the previous Government’s handling of some of the schemes. We are picking up the pieces and making sure that a similar situation does not and will not ever happen again. That is what we are absolutely focused on as we take this forward over the winter.”

“Like my hon. Friend, I am concerned about levels of energy debt, which I also see in my own constituency. Ofgem is continuing work on the debt strategy, which includes a number of measures, and we are looking at the potential introduction of a debt relief scheme. On the warm home discount, we need to balance the needs …”

“I know that my hon. Friend will be doing all she can to encourage her constituents to sign up for these schemes and to ensure that as many households as possible take advantage of schemes like the warm homes local grant so that their houses are retrofitted and made fit for the future. We want people living in warm and …”

“Sorry, Mr Speaker.”

“I am going to make progress because we are so tight on time. Crucially, it is not just homeowners who will benefit from our plan. Back in March, we allocated around £1.8 billion to local authorities and social housing providers to deliver home upgrades through the warm homes local grant and warm homes social housing fu…”

“I shall be more than happy to meet the hon. Member, as I am sure will the Minister for Climate, my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds North West (Katie White), when she returns from COP30.”

“I thank the hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Dr Chowns) for securing this debate, and for the constructive way in which she has engaged with everything that the Department has been doing since the election last year. In the seven minutes available to me, I will try to address the points she has raised, but I am mor…”

“The warm homes plan will be funded to £13.2 billion, and we will announce it before the end of the year.”

“I am proud that this Labour Government are extending the warm home discount to an extra 2.7 million households, taking the total to nearly 6 million. This will make a vital difference to so many families this winter, including an approximate additional 350,000 households in the south-east.”