Household Energy Bills Support
Tuesday, 13 October 2026
Contributions
Tristan Osborne (Chatham and Aylesford) (Lab)Labour
2. What steps she is taking to support households by helping reduce energy bills.
Jim Dickson (Dartford) (Lab)Labour
7. What steps she is taking to support households by helping reduce energy bills.
The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)Labour (Co-op)
We know that people are worried about rising energy bills when the cost of living is biting, and we know that we need to provide breathing space. That is why one of the first things that the Prime Minister did in the job was to scrap VAT on electricity bills. That is on top of the £150 that we took off the cost of energy. We are clear that the scale of what we are seeing requires us to make a concerted effort to get bills down. That is why we are running up clean energy to reduce our exposure to global fossil fuel markets and rolling out the warm homes plan so that we can upgrade our homes. Solar, batteries and clean heat can reduce bills by £600 to £800. Critically, we are determined to put the public back in control of an energy system that the Conservatives lost control of, so that it can work in the interest of consumers.
In Snodland, in my constituency, Octopus Energy is working with social housing tenants to reduce energy bills and cut costs this winter. What more can the Government do, working with the private sector, to promote renewable technologies to reduce bills this winter?
My hon. Friend is right to give the example of Octopus Energy in his constituency. Through the warm homes plan, we are investing record amounts—billions—in upgrading our homes, because we know that is a key route towards reducing bills. Solar batteries and clean heat insulation can save households between £600 and £800, and we are committed to devolving that to bring about a huge acceleration, street by street, area by area, and estate by estate. That is how we can drive down energy bills for good.
Clearly a great deal is being done to protect low-income residents from the effect of rising bills, but given that the energy cap is expected to rise considerably at the start of next year, may I ask the Secretary of State what further conversations she has had with the Treasury to find additional ways of protecting those on the lowest incomes from the effect of rising bills?
My hon. Friend asks an important question. We are acutely aware that low-income families will be hit hardest by rising prices. We are working with others across Government, including our colleagues in the Treasury, on how we can give people some breathing room. But it is important to emphasise that we have already acted. We have removed VAT from domestic electricity bills, and that comes into force straightaway. We are taking £150 off the cost of bills, and we are also delivering the warm home discount. That means £150 for 6 million of our lowest-earning households. We understand the pressure that households are under, and we will act and stand by people to support them.
Sir Gavin Williamson (Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge) (Con)Conservative
Many people, not just in my constituency but throughout the country, rely on off-grid energy. I recognise that the Government have taken steps to try and help them, but so many of them have been exposed to massive shocks and leaps in the cost of filling their tanks with oil or gas. Will the Government consider doing a little more to help the many people who are incredibly vulnerable to these energy shocks?
The right hon. Member raises an important point. We know that families in off-grid households are under huge pressure, and we are taking action to support them. We have put aside £50 million to support, for example, families who use heating oil. We are encouraging households to do that because the uptake has been lower than we want, but we are also introducing regulation of heating oil so that we can protect households. We know that there is more we can do, and we are absolutely committed to getting it done.
Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)Liberal Democrat
Cornwall Insight forecasts that the energy price cap will increase by a further 16% in January. The Secretary of State has spoken about taking VAT off electricity bills, but that amounts to £45 for an average household. In reality, that is like trying to fill a swimming pool with a thimble—it is not going to work. How will she help to protect families who are already struggling, and will she consider an essential energy guarantee so that all the energy that we need can be affordable for every household?
We are very clear about where the end destination is. We need to get to an energy system that is affordable for everyone, and we absolutely recognise that the present system is not. We are taking short-term action to give people breathing space, but ultimately I come back to the question of why families are under so much pressure. It is, in fact, because we are acutely exposed to global fossil fuel markets that we do not control. When we talk about clean energy, it is because that is the route by which we get bills down. We have to take the long-term action. We also have to ensure sure that we are reforming the market so that it works in the interests of consumers. We are providing breathing space and standing by people because we need to, but absolutely taking the hard long-term action so that we can fix this problem for good.
Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)Labour (Co-op)
With approximately 15% of Derby South households estimated to be living in fuel poverty, too many families will be dreading higher energy bills as the nights draw in. What reassurances can the Secretary of State offer my constituents that as much help as possible is on its way?
We know that families across the country will be very worried this winter. I have been to my hon. Friend’s constituency and to constituencies across the country, and I understand the pressure that people are under. We have taken action on breathing space, we will have the £150 warm home discount, and we are driving forward home upgrades because that is the way in which we can get bills down. We are doing that through local authorities. Let no one be in any doubt, however, that we understand that the status quo is untenable, and we will take the action that is necessary to drive bills down.
Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Reform)Reform UK
Last week, the Secretary of State signed off a massive solar farm in my constituency called the Steeple. It comes on the back of another massive solar farm called One Earth, which was approved by her predecessor earlier in the summer, and a third application sits on her desk today, for a project called Great North Road. In aggregate, if she signs off the latest one, 10% of the entire landmass of my constituency will be solar farms, and my constituents will see no benefit from this in their own energy bills. I wrote to her earlier in the summer to congratulate her on her new position and ask whether she would like to come to my constituency, meet my local residents and make the case for these giant solar farms to my constituents, if she really believes they are in their best interests.
Mr SpeakerSpeaker
Order. The right hon. Member has been here a long time. Please look at the Chair, rather than the person who is answering the question. These are the rules of the House—they are not my rules.
I gently point out to the right hon. Member that less than 1% of the land will be taken up by solar farms, even under our most ambitious assumptions, but let us come back to the conversation that we are having. Energy bills are too high, and we are far too exposed to global fossil fuel markets. We therefore need home-grown energy that we control. Solar is a cheap and effective way in which we can do that. The right hon. Member may not have a plan, or indeed care about having a plan, to get energy bills down, but we on this side of the House are very clear about what we need to do. Renewables is our route to driving bills down, and that is what the public expect of us.
I call the shadow Minister.
Sir Ashley Fox (Bridgwater) (Con)Conservative
Britain already has the highest electricity prices in Europe, which makes all our families worse off. The Prime Minister’s decision to end VAT on household electricity bills—for only six months—is a tiny step in the right direction, but the Government need to do much more. Will the Secretary of State reduce household energy bills by £200 a year by adopting the Conservatives’ cheap power plan? Will she extend that VAT cut, axe the carbon tax and scrap renewables obligation contracts, so that all British households are better off?
I do not think the hon. Member should have mentioned the cheap power plan, which is based on dodgy figures that the Conservatives cannot add up. Candidly, in the spirit of not point scoring, let us examine their record. They were in power for 14 years. They had the opportunity to decouple us from global fossil fuel markets and to invest in clean energy, but they did none of it. We are in this position because of the inaction and failure of the Conservatives, so they should show a bit of humility. They have no plan. Their cheap power plan is based on dodgy numbers and, candidly, we do have a plan for how to get bills down.
Source: UK Parliament Hansard API. Debate ID: 5415297.