Wera Hobhouse

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker; it is very good to see you in your place. I thank the Leader of the House for announcing the forthcoming business, and I welcome everybody back to this place following summer recess. May I also associate myself and the Liberal Democrats with everything that has been said this morning about the Grenfell tragedy? Energy bills are set to rise again this winter. Following the Government’s announcement that they will means-test winter fuel payments, Age UK has estimated that 2 million pensioners will struggle to pay their bills. Many pensioners in Bath are worried sick that they will not be able to heat their homes this winter. Many of them are included in the 1 million pensioners who will just miss out. We Liberal Democrats acknowledge and recognise that the last Conservative Government left the country’s finances in a mess, but pensioners should not be paying the price for the Conservatives’ incompetence. Politics is about choices. Pushing those cuts through when measures to mitigate their impact will come in only in April 2025 is just not the right way to go about it. I have heard from two constituents who live in a housing association flat in a listed Georgian building with poor insulation. They get no support with their bills and have no means of insulating their home. Insulating homes and pension rises must come before we cut the winter fuel allowance. I hope that the Government will listen to our side of the argument. In the light of the Government’s plans to take the support away, will the Minister of State make a statement about the pace of home insulation measures, which would make a long-term difference in reducing bills? As I say, the winter fuel allowance should not be put away before we have measures to mitigate the impact.