The Greater Cambridge shared planning service, which covers both South Cambridgeshire district council and Cambridge city council, is an award-winning planning service that has one of the highest build-out rates in the country while maintaining high environmental standards, for which it is recognised by the Government’s Cambridge Growth Company. Yet right now, it faces a… perilous situation, with unplanned speculative development, as a result of a ridiculous anomaly. Although the five-year housing land supply is a joint, shared target, the housing delivery test does not recognise the cross-boundary shared target, putting at risk that supply. I, together with all MPs for the area, wrote to the Housing Minister in January and we had a meeting in the first week of February. He assured us that he understood the urgency of the situation and offered us a swift resolution, but to date we have heard nothing. Will the Leader of the House help us resolve this matter swiftly?
Hansard · 26 Feb 2026 · parliament.uk
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Lindsay Hoyle
I call the acting shadow Leader of the House.
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Joy Morrissey
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
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Alan Campbell
The business for next week includes: Monday 2 March —Second Reading of the Representation of the People Bill. Tuesday 3 March —My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will make her spring forecast statement, followed by consideration of Lords amendments to the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill. Wednesday 4 Ma…
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Joy Morrissey
It is a pleasure to be doing business questions and responding to the right hon. Gentleman. He was a Chief Whip—a Whip, like me, but more grand—and he was much respected, revered and sometimes feared by Members of this House. I will be honest and say that even I was terrified of him, and we are not even in the same par…
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Alan Campbell
I thank the hon. Lady for her questions and for her warm welcome, but let me gently warn her that soft soap will get her absolutely nowhere. Let me join the hon. Lady in expressing our continued support for Ukraine. This week marks four years since Putin’s full-scale invasion. The Government remain steadfast in our sup…
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor24 Feb 2026
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Pippa Heylings
My hon. Friend is making an important point. On structural violence, women and young girls are the most vulnerable in the face of climate change and natural disasters, because they are exposed to violence and rape when they are displaced from their homes. As trade envoy, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor toured Gulf boardrooms, and met Shell executives… and energy conglomerates. That was ermine royal access diplomacy. Just as he showed no conscience in his personal life towards the women and young girls who were victims and survivors of the convicted paedophile Epstein, he did not think in his role as trade envoy about those exposed to structural violence against women and young girls.
Hansard · 24 Feb 2026 · parliament.uk
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Lindsay Hoyle
Before we begin the debate, I would like to make a brief statement. I understand that there is huge public interest in this matter, and there has been significant coverage in the media. It is and always has been possible for the House to properly debate these matters within the framework of our existing rules, and ther…
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Edward Davey
I beg to move, That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions to require the Government to lay before this House all papers relating to the creation of the role of Special Representative for Trade and Investment and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment to t…
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Liz Saville-Roberts
The leader of the Liberal Democrats is making a powerful speech. I am sure he will agree that decades of deferential and, frankly, sycophantic treatment by Parliament and state authorities are being exposed as having enabled Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to behave as though he were untouchable. I am sure he will also join…
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Edward Davey
I am grateful for that intervention. We must build a culture of transparency and accountability; I think that is essential. I hope that we as a House will look at ending the archaic “negative privilege” rules that Paul Flynn spoke about, and remove the bandages from our mouths. Today, we are free of those bandages, whe…
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Jim Shannon
First, I commend the right hon. Member and his party for bringing forward the motion, and for the way that he interviewed on TV this morning. Certainly, he speaks not just for this House, but for this nation. We are all greatly shocked at what has taken place, but does he agree that King Charles, Queen Camilla, Edward,…
Businesses: Cost of Energy10 Feb 2026
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Pippa Heylings
The cost of electricity is still too high, and, as we have heard, businesses are struggling to pay their energy bills. While the Government have offered help to the energy-intensive industries, it is the small and medium-sized businesses in my constituency and around the country that still feel overlooked and forgotten. Liberal Democrat researchers have… estimated that 3.1 million SMEs saw a total bill increase of £7.6 billion when the Conservative Government ended the energy bill relief scheme. When will this Government finally help SMEs—the small businesses, the backbone of our economy—to see off their crippling energy bills?
Hansard · 10 Feb 2026 · parliament.uk
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Lincoln Jopp
What steps his Department is taking to help reduce industrial electricity prices.
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Al Pinkerton
What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of supporting businesses with the cost of energy.
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Zöe Franklin
What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of supporting businesses with the cost of energy.
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Chris McDonald
We recognise that high energy costs remain a significant pressure on UK businesses. We are acting now through the British industry supercharger and the new British industrial competitiveness scheme to reduce electricity costs for energy-intensive sectors, while delivering our clean power 2030 mission to cut bills for g…
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Lincoln Jopp
Ametek and SSS Gears are two quite rare breeds—they are manufacturing companies in my Spelthorne constituency, inside the M25. One employs 200 people, while the other employs 43, and they seek to export around the world. How does the Minister expect those companies to be competitive in a global market when energy price…
Topical Questions10 Feb 2026
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Pippa Heylings
Trump’s national security report made it clear that he wanted to use America’s gas to project geopolitical power. We must not replace Putin’s gas with a reliance on Trump’s gas. That is why signing the Hamburg declaration was a step in the right direction, strengthening energy co-operation with our European neighbours. We need to go… further, and we should host the next North sea summit, demonstrating UK leadership. Has the Secretary of State managed to get the Treasury to see sense and agree to hosting the next summit?
Hansard · 10 Feb 2026 · parliament.uk
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Olivia Blake
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
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Ed Miliband
This morning we have announced a record-breaking auction for solar and onshore wind, and we are launching our local power plan. That follows a month in which we secured the biggest offshore wind auction in Europe’s history and launched our warm homes plan. We are determined to deliver lower bills and good jobs as we ta…
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Olivia Blake
I welcome the Secretary of State’s leadership in restoring momentum on net zero. Will he outline how the Government’s energy and climate strategies will be underpinned by clear delivery plans, milestones and transparent reporting to Parliament?
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Ed Miliband
My hon. Friend speaks with great eloquence on these issues. As she knows, that is the great thing about the Climate Change Act 2008, which was passed with the support of all parties. David Cameron—my nemesis—was a great supporter of that plan. The Act gives us the milestones that my hon. Friend talks about. On top of t…
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Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
Local Power Plan10 Feb 2026
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Pippa Heylings
The Liberal Democrats welcome the Government recognising what communities across the country have been saying for years: community energy is one of the most powerful ways to cut bills, rebuild trust in the energy system, rebuild local resilience and take people with us on the journey to net zero. We campaigned hard to see community… energy written into the Great British Energy Act 2025, alongside many people—although not everybody here today it seems—in this House and the other place, and alongside community groups such as the South Cambridgeshire Climate and Nature Group and other community organisations across the country. We believe in localism, empowerment and giving communities a real stake and ownership in our clean energy future. I thank the Minister for working with us to make sure that we did get that into the 2025 Act. As we rightly move away from volatile fossil fuel costs controlled by foreign powers, we must ensure that our new clean energy system puts communities first. It must mean giving people the power to generate, own, and, crucially, sell their own clean energy locally, with profits reinvested in the places where the energy is produced. We welcome the local power plan in principle, but the devil is in the detail. First, what happened to the Government’s pledge of £3.3 billion for community-owned energy, when today we are hearing about £1 billion of investment? We do not want to follow the Conservative Government’s retreat from ambition on local clean power. It is not the time to scale back ambition. Secondly, on the crucial issue of local empowerment, regulation is needed. Organisations such as Power for People constantly told us that there are, as the Secretary of State said, barriers to access fair local markets. They welcome this plan, too, echoing the Minister’s promise that the Government will establish local energy supply models. The local power plan—I have looked through it very quickly—talks about the regulatory changes necessary, but when
Hansard · 10 Feb 2026 · parliament.uk
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Ed Miliband
With permission, I will make a statement about the local power plan and allocation round 7 solar and onshore wind auction results, both of which have been published today. Britain’s drive for clean energy is about helping to answer the call for a different kind of economy that works for the many, not just the wealthy a…
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Greg Smith
I thank the Secretary of State for prior sight of his statement. It is becoming increasingly difficult to tell whether the Secretary of State is at the Dispatch Box as the Energy Secretary or rehearsing for a future move to perhaps No. 11. Once again, he is more distracted by personal ambition than concerned about the …
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Ed Miliband
Well, there were no questions, but I will reply none the less. Let me start with the AR7 auction, because this is very interesting and it will give the House a picture of what has actually changed. What has changed is the Conservative party, not the reality. We had the AR5 auction a couple of years ago, when the Conser…
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Caroline Nokes
I call the Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee.
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Bill Esterson
Select Committees look at the evidence. The evidence we have heard is that community energy is a great way of bringing down bills and giving people the confidence to take part in the energy transition. The Secretary of State talked about solar in his statement. We heard that golf courses use 10 times as much land as so…
National Cancer Plan5 Feb 2026
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Pippa Heylings
This weekend, I got the devastating call about my brave and wonderful sister Dawn, loving mother and carer to Ella, who, after a dash to A&E, was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer and given just three to six months to live. What links less survivable cancers is their late diagnosis. Does the Minister agree with… my amazing sister Dawn and me that we need to be more proactive about early diagnosis of less survivable cancers, such as through annual screening of those with a family history or high-risk genetic factors, to improve the ability to detect and remove tumours early and improve the five-year survival rates—sadly, hers is not—to over 50%?
Hansard · 5 Feb 2026 · parliament.uk
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Ashley Dalton
With permission, I will make a statement on the Government’s national cancer plan for England. A cancer diagnosis changes you forever. When I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer 18 months ago, I did not know whether I would be alive today, never mind standing at this Dispatch Box announcing a national cancer pl…
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Judith Cummins
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
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Stuart Andrew
I thank the Minister for advance sight of her statement. May I say right at the outset that we share the ambition to improve cancer survival and outcomes? Almost every family in Britain has been touched by cancer, and patients deserve timely diagnosis, treatment and proper support. I also recognise the Minister’s perso…
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Ashley Dalton
I thank the right hon. Member for his statement and questions, and particularly for his personal wishes. Overseeing delivery is absolutely crucial. It is great that we have written a plan, but what matters is delivering it. We started delivery even before we had finished writing this plan; we are not waiting. We have a…
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Clive Betts
I really welcome this plan, and the efforts of my hon. Friend the Minister and right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in putting it together. I will just raise one credit and one request to go a bit further. First, when I had my cancer treatment eight years ago, I thought I knew my way around the NHS, but it is a com…
Road Safety5 Feb 2026
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Pippa Heylings
I thank the hon. Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) for securing this important debate. Since 2018, there have been 1,506 casualties on our roads in South Cambridgeshire and 34 fatalities, which we all know is 34 too many. Road safety is often discussed in terms of behaviour, speed or enforcement—issues we have heard much about… today—but for many of my constituents, the danger begins with the road surface itself. Potholes, worn carriageways and crumbling edges are not just a sign of successive Governments’ failure to invest in our roads and highways but a real safety risk, particularly for cyclists, motorcyclists, pedestrians and drivers forced to swerve to avoid damage. I hear regularly from constituents whose tyres have blown, wheels have cracked or bikes have been thrown off balance because of the unsafe roads beneath them. This is a recurring nightmare for all councils. I want to take this opportunity to place on record the work of Cambridgeshire county council, which, as the highways authority, is doing everything it reasonably can in very difficult circumstances. Just last night the chair of highways, Councillor Alex Beckett, was out checking the round-the-clock patching of potholes on Cambridge Road in Great Shelford village, following repeated calls from residents and local councillors highlighting just how dangerous this road had become. In the same village, Farhan Hussain, an award-winning curry takeaway owner for whom I recently presented an early-day motion, found a different way of raising awareness: he went viral with a video of himself placing the largest naan in East Anglia in a pothole. To be fair, the council did get it mended within the week. Under Liberal Democrat leadership, the council’s investment in capital maintenance has more than doubled, and it is delivering tens of thousands of pothole repairs every year. The council is also challenging contractors who do shoddy work, and work that does not meet the right standard is being redone at no extr
Hansard · 5 Feb 2026 · parliament.uk
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Caroline Nokes
I call Anna Dixon, who will speak for up to 15 minutes.
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Anna Dixon
I beg to move, That this House has considered road safety. Road safety is a personal issue for me. My grandfather Herbert Bilsby moved to Ilkley in 1952 to take up a post as a geography teacher at Ilkley grammar school. Aged 62, he was looking forward to retirement: more time to enjoy his passion for hiking; more time …
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Mike Martin
That ambition is fantastic, and I wonder whether we could be more ambitious on the drive-drink limit. Pilots cannot fly if they have any alcohol in their system. Why is it not the same for drivers?
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Anna Dixon
I agree that it is important that we consult the public on looking to reduce the drink-driving limit to the lowest possible level, and the Minister has heard the hon. Member’s remarks about a possible zero tolerance to drinking alcohol while driving. I hope that on this measure and others the Minister will agree to mee…
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Caroline Nokes
Order. Members will know that two debates are scheduled this afternoon, which will necessitate a very tight time limit of three minutes from the get-go.
Education Funding: Distribution28 Jan 2026
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Pippa Heylings
I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the issue of the distribution of education funding, because it goes to the heart of what kind of education system we want. As Liberal Democrats, we want every child to be provided with the opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential. However, I am sure that… the Government and MPs from across the Chamber would agree that the current system is not working as well as it should. Now is the time to tackle the historical unfair distribution of education funding. Every child should have access to the same resources and opportunities, regardless of where they live or their level of need. That unfairness in funding across local authority areas shapes what local schools can offer and how quickly children receive support, and ultimately affects whether families experience education as a source of opportunity or a source of constant struggle. That is wrong. The national funding formula and the high needs block of the dedicated schools grant were intended to bring fairness and transparency to school funding, but historical proxy factors remain embedded within them. Those factors lock in funding patterns from decades ago, protecting some areas—regardless of how they have changed—while capping others, even as pupil numbers rise and needs become more complex.
Hansard · 28 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
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Jim Shannon
I commend the hon. Lady on securing this debate. She is absolutely right to bring this incredibly important issue to the House. It does not matter where we are in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the problems are the same. Over the past couple of years as an elected representative, I have seen …
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Chris Coghlan
My hon. Friend is raising incredibly important points on the distribution of funding, but does she agree that the distribution of funding during life stage is also important? [Interruption.] According to the Early Intervention Foundation, the NHS is spending £3.7 billion a year on the cost of late intervention. In theo…
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Vikki Slade
I got some data this week that told me that our local authorities are spending £60,000 a child extra on independent special schools versus maintained special schools. In the south-west of England, only one third of children can go to state maintained schools. Does my hon. Friend agree that as schools are having that mo…
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Jayne Kirkham
As a vice-chair of the f40 group and as an MP in Cornwall, which has the 13th lowest SEND funding, I understand exactly what the hon. Member is talking about. Does she agree, however, that we now have a welcome focus on SEND, that we have increased funding, and that the schools White Paper and the SEND White Paper, whi…
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Caroline Nokes
Order. We must not refer to right hon. and hon. Members by name. Although the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Alison McGovern) was the Minister in post, we would still not refer to her by name.
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Pippa Heylings
I agree with the hon. Member. It is exactly why we need this debate at the national level. I recognise the work undertaken by the f40 fairer funding campaign, which has provided comparative historical data for the whole country, exposing the huge variations in funding allocations per pupil by local authority. Nowhere i…
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Pippa Heylings
My hon. Friend makes a hugely important point, and we have just heard agreement from across the Chamber about the importance of both the geographic distribution of funding and to which age groups it is distributed. The underfunding interacts directly with the crisis in special educational needs and disabilities provisi…
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Pippa Heylings
I could not have put it better myself. That issue is symptomatic of and a causal factor in the problems. We are seeing the gap between funding and spend widening year after year. In my area, that is compounded by rapid population growth. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are forecast to grow by a further nearly 17% betwe…
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Pippa Heylings
I have some key questions for the Minister about exactly that point. A stark reality keeps county councillors and their finance officers awake at night. Cambridgeshire’s overall dedicated schools grant deficit stood at £62.8 million at the end of 2025. Forecasts show that the high needs block deficit will rise to about…
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Pippa Heylings
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Everyone now needs to know what will happen to the debt in 2028 when the Government centralise the funding, as they have announced that they will. If it is not absorbed or absolved by the Government, Cambridgeshire, like many other councils, could be approaching section 114 bankruptcy t…
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Pippa Heylings
I am sorry to hear what has happened with that school, but I think we need to look, in the round, at what is happening to all schools and all school funding. I appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s mention of the statutory override, and I will come to it later in my speech.
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Pippa Heylings
That goes to the heart of it. All children, no matter where they live, deserve the right to, and the opportunity of, the best education they can have. Let me return to the issue of the debt, and the deficit that the council is holding as a result of the statutory override. Independent analysis suggests that by 2028, th…
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Pippa Heylings
I completely agree. What does this mean for our schools? It is no surprise that 37 primary schools across Cambridgeshire are operating in deficit. Schools do not have any headroom left; they cannot absorb further pressures without making damaging choices about staffing, class sizes and support. I have heard from the sc…
Warm Homes Plan21 Jan 2026
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Pippa Heylings
We have been asking for the warm homes plan for Christmas for the past two years. It is better late than never, but we have mixed feelings in unwrapping it. The Liberal Democrats have long called for an emergency home energy upgrade scheme with free insulation and heat pumps, and we have recently submitted proposals… for low-interest loan schemes, so we really welcome this significant investment by the Government in low-carbon heating. It is folly for anyone to think that we can rely on Putin’s Russia or Trump’s America for the gas to heat our homes, so it is right for the Government to help households make this shift. Every solar panel, heat pump and battery installed will protect families from volatile fossil fuel costs and make homes cheaper to both warm and cool, which is a key point. However, I share the concerns of the energy efficiency sector about the balance that is being struck between insulation and electrification. As the Secretary of State said, we have seen fuel poverty rise and rates of insulation fall over the last five years, and the UK has some of the least energy-efficient housing in Europe, leading to serious health problems and cold, damp, Dickensian home conditions. Despite our warnings, there is still no clarity in this plan about what will replace the ECO programme, leaving supply chains in limbo and skilled installers going bankrupt. The delay—I will call this out—could leave us without an operational national fuel poverty strategy over the coming winter. We hope that is not the case, and we will therefore hold the Government to account on this and other things that have been mentioned. The gas and electricity price reform has been postponed again, and efficiency standards for landlords have been weakened. Thank you so much for taking on board the rooftop revolution on the back of the New Homes (Solar Generation) Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Max Wilkinson) , but the future homes standard is still missing in act
Hansard · 21 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
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Ed Miliband
With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement about the warm homes plan, which we publish today. It is a plan focused on the No. 1 issue facing our country, which is the cost of living crisis, and on the scourge of fuel poverty, which affects millions of families across Britain. At the Budget, my right hon. Frie…
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Andrew Bowie
I thank the Secretary of State for the advance copy of his statement. Today’s announcement is long overdue—overdue by an entire year, to be exact. During the general election, the Labour party claimed that it would cut household bills. This announcement should be part of that, but in that time, since the general electi…
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Ed Miliband
It is always a pleasure to be opposite the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie) . Let me make a few points to him, in the gentlest way I can. Let me deal first with his point about the cost of electricity. In her Budget, the Chancellor did more in one decision—namely, to transfer 75% of the …
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Ed Miliband
The hon. Gentleman is shouting about bills. Let me tell him that the average bill in 2025 was lower in real terms than in 2024, and so was the price cap, as he will know from the figures. I am incredibly proud that this Government, unlike the last Government, are taking £150 of costs off bills thanks to the Chancellor’…
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Nusrat Ghani
I call the Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee.
Business of the House8 Jan 2026
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Pippa Heylings
This past week, we have all been speaking about the need to respect the rule of international law, yet transnational repression in which authoritarian regimes extend their jurisdiction beyond their borders and powers is worryingly present on UK soil. My constituent Shahzad Akbar, who is a former human rights lawyer, cabinet Minister and political dissident… from Pakistan, has faced repeated and violent attacks against him and efforts to intimidate him. He has suffered an acid attack in his home in front of his four-year-old daughter. Just on Christmas eve, he had a physical assault against him, resulting in a broken nose and jaw, which again happened in front of his young family. Just before new year’s eve, he had a terrifying arson attack on his home. I have made the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary aware of those attacks, but does the Leader of the House agree that that cannot be allowed on British soil? Further measures are needed to protect political dissidents here in our country, and a debate on transnational repression and the Government’s measures to combat it is in the interests of democracy and this House.
Hansard · 8 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
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John Lamont
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
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Alan Campbell
The business for the week commencing 12 January includes: Monday 12 January —Committee of the whole House of the Finance (No. 2) Bill (day 1). Tuesday 13 January —Committee of the whole House of the Finance (No. 2) Bill (day 2). Wednesday 14 January —Remaining stages of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill. Thursday…
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John Lamont
Mr Speaker, may I begin by wishing you, the Leader of the House, right hon. and hon. Members and all staff of the House a very happy new year? I appreciate that the Leader of the House may still be recovering from the excesses of the festive season, so I will try not to add unduly to his discomfort, but I will start wi…
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Alan Campbell
I wish you, Mr Speaker, and everyone across the House a happy new year. I congratulate parliamentarians past and present who were recognised in the new year’s honours. It is right and proper that people who make an exemplary contribution to public service are recognised, like so many others across our country. I was sa…
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Barry Gardiner
Happy new year to you, Mr Speaker. Delays in the court system mean that one of my constituents has been in prison on remand awaiting trial for over a year. She is in New Hall Prison, 200 miles away from her mother, who is disabled and cannot make that journey. She has requested a transfer to Bronzefield Prison, so her …
Fuel Poverty6 Jan 2026
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Pippa Heylings
Thank you, Mr Speaker, and happy new year. It is freezing outside and, tragically, more than 4,000 households in my constituency are living in fuel poverty. The Government’s decision to cut the energy company obligation, which was the key mechanism for delivering home insulation and energy efficiency, without any details about what will replace it,… risks pushing more families into fuel poverty. The businesses and supply chains that have fulfilled ECO contracts for more than a decade have been left in limbo. Again, we have heard no date for the plan. Will the Secretary of State or the Minister finally say when it will be released, thus ending uncertainty for businesses and the suffering of households?
Hansard · 6 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
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Baggy Shanker
What steps he is taking to help tackle fuel poverty.
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Martin McCluskey
Tackling fuel poverty is a priority for this Government. We will publish a new fuel poverty strategy for England to ensure that many more fuel-poor households are protected by 2030, at the same time as publishing the warm homes plan. We have also expanded the warm home discount to nearly 6 million households, adding ap…
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Baggy Shanker
Everyone deserves a warm and safe place to call home, but for the 20% of families in Derby South who live in fuel poverty this week’s cold snap is a nightmare as they struggle to heat their homes. What longer-term plans are being made so that families can see the benefits of a Labour Government and do not dread this so…
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Martin McCluskey
I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. Energy prices are still far too high because of dither and delay from the Opposition when they were in government. No one should have to make the difficult choices that my hon. Friend describes. The Government are totally focused on reducing the cost of energy and mak…
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Ellie Chowns
Charities estimate that more than 6 million households in the UK live in fuel poverty. The Minister’s answer did not even mention the warm homes plan, but he talked about dither and delay. His Government have repeatedly postponed publication of the warm homes plan. They have cancelled previous fuel poverty programmes w…
Topical Questions6 Jan 2026
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Pippa Heylings
Brexit excluded us from the EU’s internal energy market, costing the UK a huge £350 million annually. Will the Secretary of State confirm how he will accelerate progress towards the UK-EU internal electricity trading agreement to bring down costs and ensure energy security in these volatile times?
Hansard · 6 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
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Carla Denyer
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
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Ed Miliband
The affordability crisis is the No. 1 issue facing families across our country. That is why we have acted to take £150 of costs off bills for all families, with an additional £150 through the warm home discount for 6 million households this winter. Thanks to our decisions, last year was a record year for wind and solar…
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Carla Denyer
Climate change made 2025 the UK’s hottest year on record and fuelled deadly extreme weather events across the globe. We know that every drop of oil and gas used makes those events more likely, so will the Secretary of State confirm how much more new oil and gas could be extracted via the tiebacks that the Government ha…
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Ed Miliband
I wish the hon. Lady a happy new year, but I find that question a bit churlish. We have produced a world-leading plan for the North sea, which combines the just transition—the just and prosperous transition—with environmental leadership, while keeping to our manifesto commitment not to issue new licences to explore new…
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Meg Hillier
Banister House in Homerton in my constituency was the first community energy scheme in Hackney with solar panels on the roof, and it is the UK’s largest such scheme on social housing. The forthcoming local power plan will provide an opportunity for others to follow where Hackney has led. Could the Secretary of State gi…
Finance (No. 2) Bill16 Dec 2025
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Pippa Heylings
It is not only the VAT; the proposed hike in alcohol duty is yet another blow to pubs and breweries in my constituency. They include the Three Hills in Bartlow, which is reeling from a business rate increase of 123% as a result of the business rate valuation changes. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that… the Chancellor is failing to protect our pubs and breweries with these measures?
Hansard · 16 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
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Caroline Nokes
The reasoned amendment in the name of the Leader of the Opposition has been selected.
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Dan Tomlinson
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. On 26 November , my right hon. Friend the Chancellor delivered her second Budget at this Dispatch Box. This was a Budget to build strong foundations and a secure future for our country, with no cuts to capital spending—which I am sure would have been implemented b…
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Graham Stuart
The Minister says that there will be no cut to capital budgets, but of course he is talking only about the public sector. Has he seen the CBI Economics research that suggests that there will be severe capital budget reductions in the private sector—the very sector that creates the wealth on which everything else depend…
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Dan Tomlinson
I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will have read the Office for Budget Responsibility’s report—we had a bit of extra time to read it this year. He will know that according to that report, investment—both overall, whole-economy investment and private sector investment—has outpaced the OBR’s forecast from March thi…
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Carla Lockhart
The Government have chosen to absolutely decimate family farms across the whole United Kingdom. The Prime Minister was questioned yesterday by members of the Liaison Committee, and he was told that farmers have said that they might be better off dying before this tax change comes in. I feel that we need to let the real…
Topical Questions25 Nov 2025
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Pippa Heylings
Two weeks ago, when I asked the Government whether they had had discussions with the Cambridgeshire integrated care board on the 16,000-strong petition to save beds at the Arthur Rank hospice, I was informed that it would not be possible to provide a response within the usual time period. I have a simpler request today:… will the Minister meet me and the new Central East integrated care board to discuss how to identify need and strategically commission beds?
Hansard · 25 Nov 2025 · parliament.uk
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Sarah Olney
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
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Wes Streeting
Obesity robs children of the best possible start in life, hits the poorest hardest, sets them up for a lifetime of health problems and costs the NHS billions, so I can announce to the House that we are expanding the soft drinks industry levy to include bottles and cartons of milkshakes, flavoured milk and milk substitu…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
The only thing I will say is that at least we are hearing it first in this House and not on Sky.
SO
Sarah Olney
I congratulate the Secretary of State and the Department of Health and Social Care on the launch last week of the men’s health strategy. My constituent Philip Pirie, who sadly lost his son to suicide, has been calling on the Government to launch a public health campaign to reduce the stigma of suicide. Nearly 75% of th…
WS
Wes Streeting
I am sure that my hon. Friend the Minister for Care would be delighted to meet. The men’s health strategy sets out precisely the challenge in those terms. Through the partnerships that we have already announced, such as with the Premier League, as well as the people who have been knocking on our doors to get involved i…
COP3025 Nov 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
COP30 was the first climate summit since the world experienced a full year of global warming above 1.5°C. That is a stark reminder of the urgency we collectively face. At home, due to extreme weather, our farmers faced their worst harvest on record and lost billions in income from arable crops, while we saw devastating… wildfires, doubling records, that wiped out national parks and local environments that are precious to everyone. These are the costs of inaction and climate breakdown here in the UK. I was proud to be part of a cross-party group of MPs who attended this COP and to carry with me the hopes of young people in South Cambridgeshire who sent me pictures, videos and poems. Freya, aged 11, wrote: “I don’t want to just inherit my future. I want to be able to shape the decisions and actions that others are taking on my behalf, because I am afraid.” I want to commend Brazil, the Secretary of State, the UK negotiating team and all those who worked tirelessly to keep the COP process alive, despite relentless attacks from climate denialism, delay and deception. The multilateral system is far from perfect, but it is the best alternative we have for global co-operation on climate change. There were positives: the pledges to cut methane; the recognition of the links between climate, nature and public health; the commitment to triple adaptation finance, which we know from Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica is absolutely critical; and the demonstration by business that the transition is an economic imperative and opportunity. The global climate action agenda is just so inspiring and has a massive impact, but we know that hope was not matched by delivery: there is still no credible plan to reduce the gap between current national commitments and the reductions needed to stay below 1.5°C; the refusal to reference fossil fuels and the transition away in the final text, despite it being the root cause of the crisis, was a staggering failure; and the Prime Minister’s unexpected and
Hansard · 25 Nov 2025 · parliament.uk
EM
Ed Miliband
With permission, I would like to make a statement about the COP30 climate summit. The climate crisis represents the greatest long-term threat we face as a world, but the transition also represents the greatest economic opportunity of our time. At home, we are driving for clean energy and climate action, because it is r…
JC
Judith Cummins
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
CC
Claire Coutinho
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. Let us be clear: when this Secretary of State resumed office, he decided to impose the most punishing climate policies at home, because according to his argument, if we lead, others will follow. That is why we are the only country in the world to be shu…
EM
Ed Miliband
Oh dear, oh dear! I remember a time when the Conservative party was serious about the COP negotiations. The shadow Secretary of State had advance sight of the statement, but she did not ask any questions about it. I have to say that there is a fundamental issue here: do we engage internationally on how we drive forward…
JC
James Cartlidge
Because Putin invaded Ukraine!
Topical Questions28 Oct 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
The UN Secretary General has warned that it is now inevitable that we will fail to keep global warming under 1.5°C, with the threat of devastating consequences, like the loss of the Amazon rainforest and its role in climate regulation. While the Conservatives and Reform continue to sabotage climate action, it is good to know… that the Prime Minister will be going to COP30, but will the Foreign Secretary commit to making no further cuts to our international aid budget, so that we can contribute to the Tropical Forest Forever Facility fund?
Hansard · 28 Oct 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
James Naish
If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
YC
Yvette Cooper
Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall in Jamaica shortly. It is potentially the most severe storm ever to hit the country. Sadly, seven people across the region have already reportedly lost their life, and thousands are in shelters as they wait for the storm’s arrival. Many people will be thinking of family an…
JN
James Naish
I thank the Foreign Secretary for that update on Jamaica and the diligence of the FCDO in preparing for events there. Tomorrow I am hosting Hong Kong Watch in Parliament as it releases its latest report on the erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy. The report highlights how Beijing has increasingly sought to dismantle Hong K…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. Can you help me to help everybody else to get in? In topicals, we have to be short and punchy.
YC
Yvette Cooper
We strongly condemn China’s non-compliance with the joint declaration, as described in the latest published six-monthly report, which details the continued deterioration of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong. We have continually pressed China to uphold the rights of Hongkongers; its non-compliance is one of the reasons w…
North Sea Oil and Gas Industry27 Oct 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
This is worrying news. Petrofac is one of the North sea’s largest offshore contractors, but it is entering administration today after years of financial difficulty. While I cannot share the desire of the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie) to ditch the Climate Change Act 2008, I do share his concern for… those 2,000 jobs in Scotland and those workers who face uncertainty about their future, so the Secretary of State must act swiftly to find a sustainable path forward, hopefully secure a buyer and safeguard those skilled jobs. This underlines why the Liberal Democrats have called for an independent just transition commission, putting oil and gas workers and local communities front and centre. It was good to see the much-awaited publication of the Government’s clean energy jobs plan last week. However, we know that job creation is not happening fast enough to keep up with job losses in the North sea, so can the Secretary of State and the Minister confirm what will be done to fill that gap in the meantime—in the short term—and to deliver a genuinely just transition that keeps those skilled workers powering Britain’s clean energy future?
Hansard · 27 Oct 2025 · parliament.uk
AB
Andrew Bowie
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero if he will make a statement on the future of the North Sea oil and gas industry.
MS
Michael Shanks
The North sea will be at the heart of Britain’s energy future. For decades its workers, business and communities have helped to power our country and our world, and they will do so for decades to come. The oil and gas industry has lost around a third of its entire workforce in the last decade as oil and gas production …
AB
Andrew Bowie
Another week and yet another hammer blow to our North sea oil and gas industry, another gut punch to energy workers and another blow to our energy security. Whatever the Minister says today, the blame lies squarely with this Labour Government. [Interruption.] They do not like to hear it, but it is true. Today, the ener…
MS
Michael Shanks
On Petrofac, the hon. Gentleman should be careful with his tone. To come here and try to undermine efforts to find a buyer for the UK arm and to talk down a business, which, as I just outlined, is a successful and growing business in the North sea, is deeply irresponsible. There have been long-standing issues at the co…
PF
Patricia Ferguson
Will my hon. Friend outline to the House how the Government are delivering the clean energy jobs plan, which will see 40,000 new jobs in the clean energy industries in Scotland by 2030? I am sure that move will be welcomed around the Chamber. Will he advise us what support will be given to that plan by the Scottish Gov…
Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund22 Oct 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
It is my huge privilege to be the MP for South Cambridgeshire, which is home to Europe’s largest biomedical campus and the UK’s world-leading tech and life sciences sectors, and one of the largest contributors to the UK economy. The Liberal Democrats have long recognised that strategic investment in life sciences manufacturing is essential to… our economic future and our national health security. Central to the delivery of the life sciences sector plan as part of the wider new industrial strategy, the life sciences innovative manufacturing fund is welcome and exactly the kind of targeted intervention the research and development sector has needed for a long time. While boosting economic opportunity, the fund also aims to increase the UK’s health resilience and ability to withstand and recover from health emergencies such as pandemics, long-term healthcare challenges and system shocks such as supply shock disruption.
Hansard · 22 Oct 2025 · parliament.uk
NG
Nusrat Ghani
If everyone is in their places, in particular Mr Anderson, who seems to have sat on every Bench in the Chamber this afternoon—
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Well, quite. In that case, I call the Minister to move the motion. Is this your first time at the Dispatch Box, Minister?
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Well, congratulations and welcome.
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I beg to move, That this House authorises the Secretary of State to undertake payments, by way of financial assistance under section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1982, in excess of £30 million to any successful applicant to the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, launched on 30 October 2024 , up to a cu…
JA
Jim Allister
Northern Ireland has a vibrant life sciences manufacturing sector. I am looking to the Minister for an assurance relating to article 10 of the Windsor framework, which subjects Northern Ireland to EU state aid rules. Can the Minister assure us that there is no impediment arising therein that would impede successful app…
PH
Pippa Heylings
Absolutely. Investment in the life science sector in the rural economy is critical, and that is why we are concerned that this motion comes at a time when our life science sector is in crisis—and, frankly, I am not hearing yet from the Minister that the Government are grasping the scale of the crisis. I have heard cons…
Public-private Partnerships21 Oct 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
I meet regularly with GPs in my constituency, and they have highlighted that they do not yet have clarity or certainty about the role and resources that they will have in the roll-out of services from hospitals to communities and neighbourhood health services. Will the Minister meet me to provide that clarity to our GPs… and assure them that they will be at the table during that roll-out?
Hansard · 21 Oct 2025 · parliament.uk
IL
Ian Lavery
What steps he is taking to ensure that frontline NHS services are supported following the potential introduction of new public-private partnership contracts.
KS
Karin Smyth
Let me be clear: this Government will always protect the NHS and have the service free at the point of use for everyone. This Government are determined to shift health out of hospitals and into the community, as set out in the 10-year plan, and neighbourhood health services will be fundamental to delivering this shift,…
IL
Ian Lavery
May I begin by congratulating the Secretary of State on his actions in trying to repair our cherished NHS following 14 years of Tory destruction? We must learn from past mistakes. The private finance initiative was a huge, expensive mistake—an absolute disaster—with £80 billion repaid for an investment of £13 billion. …
KS
Karin Smyth
I thank my hon. Friend for his words of encouragement and congratulation. I assure him that lessons have been learned; we will ensure value for taxpayers’ money in all future proposals.
KS
Karin Smyth
It is absolutely the role of the hon. Lady’s local integrated care board to ensure that it involves all partners, particularly primary care, in the exciting roll-out of neighbourhood health services, which I think they welcome. I am happy to discuss that further with her.
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill16 Oct 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
It is a privilege to speak in support of this Bill. This is a hugely important step that, as the Minister laid out, will finally allow the United Kingdom to ratify the high seas treaty and play its full part in protecting our shared global ocean. That is something that I hope Members across the… Chamber will support. I share in congratulations to the Minister on keeping her word that she gave as shadow Minister. That is really good to see. The Bill comes at a crucial time. After more than a decade of negotiation, this treaty is one of the greatest biodiversity conservation victories in history. It is a landmark moment for global ocean governance, setting out for the first time a clear legal framework for establishing ocean sanctuaries and area-based management tools on the high seas, two-thirds of which lie beyond national borders and are therefore currently lawless. We refer to our rainforests as our planet’s lungs, but our oceans are just as important for biodiversity, regulating our climate, absorbing almost a third of human-made carbon dioxide, and sustaining billions of people around the world. As we have heard, they are also under extraordinary pressure from overfishing, plastic pollution and the growing threat of deep-sea mining. The treaty is currently the only viable pathway to meeting the global 30 by 30 biodiversity goal of protecting at least 30% of the world’s ocean before 2030. Currently, less than 1% of the high seas is fully protected, so time is running out to meet that goal by the end of the decade. I welcome the Bill, which provides the legal framework for the UK to deliver on the high seas treaty’s three central pillars: first, the fair sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources, the DNA and data of ocean life; secondly, the creation of marine protected areas and area-based management tools on the high seas; and thirdly, stronger environmental impact assessments to prevent harmful activities before they happen. This has to be fair for devel
Hansard · 16 Oct 2025 · parliament.uk
EH
Emma Hardy
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill is a landmark piece of legislation that will implement obligations in the United Nations BBNJ agreement in UK law and enable us to move towards ratification of this historic agreement. I am sure the Bill will be w…
TP
Toby Perkins
The Minister is absolutely right to say that there is support across the House for this really important Bill. She is right also to pay tribute to the previous Government for some of the work they have done, but it is true to say that, despite the fact that in the last Parliament there were many times when this Parliam…
EH
Emma Hardy
I cannot disagree with my hon. Friend on that, can I? I thank him for his comments. As I said, it means a lot to me to be able to stand here today and say that I have fulfilled in government the commitment that I made in opposition. We need to pass the Bill and the associated secondary legislation before we can take th…
SG
Stephen Gethins
I agree with the Minister that her engagement with various stakeholders—environmental NGOs, academics and universities—is crucial. I also acknowledge the parts of the Bill that underline the role of devolved Administrations and the important work that has to be done. Will her officials work closely with the devolved Ad…
EH
Emma Hardy
I can offer the hon. Gentleman that reassurance. That is an important point well made. The BBNJ marks an historic breakthrough. It is a multilateral treaty adopted under the United Nations convention on the law of the sea that is designed to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in …
PH
Pippa Heylings
With the leave of the House, it only remains to say that we have heard, across the Chamber, impassioned and professional expertise. We have also heard about the importance of working together, not only in terms of multilateralism—[Interruption.] I hope that Members on the Conservative Front Bench are listening. We have…
Children’s Hospices: South-east England16 Oct 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
My hon. Friend has brought forward a critical debate on children’s hospices. While we are looking at children’s hospices, let me say that this issue is also critical for adult hospices. In South Cambridgeshire, we have the fabulous Arthur Rank hospice, which at the moment is looking toward the cutting of its adult hospice beds.… The outcry from constituents and members is huge. Does my hon. Friend agree that the ICBs could look at strategic commissioning of that care across both adult and children’s hospice beds?
Hansard · 16 Oct 2025 · parliament.uk
AB
Alison Bennett
I wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s announcement this morning, in anticipation of this afternoon’s debate, of £80 million of support for children’s hospices over three years. I thank the Minister for listening to the calls of the children’s hospice sector and the Liberal Democrats. The three-year settlement will …
JB
Josh Babarinde
I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. An amazing children’s hospice that serves constituents in my patch is Demelza, which has an amazing array of staff, volunteers and the rest, including Queen’s nurses such as Donna Mole. Will my hon. Friend congratulate Donna on being a recipient of that award? Will…
AB
Alison Bennett
I thank my hon. Friend for celebrating the work of Queen’s nurses and fabulous Fia for what she has done in writing a book—I am not sure that I could do that. It is truly impressive, and I am happy to encourage the Minister to buy the book; it sounds like I had better buy it too. This is about real children like fabulo…
AB
Alison Bennett
I thank my hon. Friend for the campaigning she is doing with her colleagues on Arthur Rank hospice in Cambridgeshire, and she is right. When I went to visit Chestnut Tree House in Sussex last week, I saw that it is talking to adult hospices in the area about where that more strategic view can happen. These children des…
SK
Stephen Kinnock
I thank the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) for securing this vital debate. I also thank all those who work or volunteer in the palliative care and end-of-life care sector for their care and support—the compassion that they provide to patients, families and loved ones when they need it most. This Government…
Reducing Energy Bills14 Oct 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
I welcome the new Ministers to their place—I look forward to working with them—and I congratulate the Secretary of State and the Minister for Energy on holding on to their posts, which we are glad to see. One of the best ways to bring down household bills is to help homeowners and small businesses make… their properties cheaper to warm and to power. The Liberal Democrats have put forward a plan to do that by introducing a windfall tax on the big banks, which have seen billions of pounds in unexpected profits as a result of the quantitative easing programme by the Bank of England more than a decade ago. Does the Secretary of State agree with the Liberal Democrats that we should instead use those excess profits to fund green affordable loans of up to £20,000 for households and up to £50,000 for businesses and community groups, and cut people’s power bills for good?
Hansard · 14 Oct 2025 · parliament.uk
DC
Danny Chambers
What steps he is taking to reduce energy bills.
VC
Victoria Collins
What steps he is taking to reduce energy bills.
AS
Anna Sabine
What steps he is taking to reduce energy bills.
MM
Martin McCluskey
The Government believe that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect bill payers permanently. We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills while we transition to clean power. That is why we are expanding the war…
DC
Danny Chambers
I recently visited St Bartholomew’s church in Hyde, which has served the residents of Winchester for over 915 years, as part of its Give to Go Green day, which raised £2,400 to support its efforts to decarbonise the church and reduce energy bills. Will the Minister join me in congratulating the congregation and the com…
Topical Questions14 Oct 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
Frighteningly, the Earth has already reached its first climate tipping point linked to global warming. We are now seeing warm water coral reefs going into irreversible decline, which is threatening nature and millions of people and their livelihoods. The climate crisis is a global emergency and needs leadership, and when Britain leads, others follow. Can… the Secretary of State finally confirm that the Prime Minister will attend COP30 and lead from the front?
Hansard · 14 Oct 2025 · parliament.uk
LB
Lorraine Beavers
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
EM
Ed Miliband
Since the last oral questions in July, we have reached a final investment decision for Sizewell C, creating 10,000 jobs, and surpassed the historic milestone of approving enough clean power for 7.5 million homes after just 15 months of this Government. From next month, nearly 6 million families will receive £150 off th…
LB
Lorraine Beavers
The National Energy System Operator is currently assessing whether tidal range technology can help us meet our clean power mission. In Fleetwood, we have a huge opportunity for a tidal range project, which could bring desperately needed jobs and investment. Will the Minister meet me to discuss that opportunity and the …
EM
Ed Miliband
My hon. Friend raises the important issue of tidal energy. I am very aware of the assessment that NESO is conducting—obviously, our Department is working with it on that assessment. The Minister for Energy chairs the marine energy taskforce, and is happy to meet my hon. Friend.
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
Points of Order16 Sep 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. On 1 September , the hon. Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks) , now Minister of State in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, issued a written statement on the contingent liabilities from the funded decommissioning programme and Government support package for Sizewell C, which is due… to be undertaken on 1 October . It is a liability to Government and taxpayers that could reach up to the tune of £12 billion. That is a significant contingent liability for the public purse, and due parliamentary scrutiny is necessary. Although the Minister stated reasons for not providing the required 14 days for scrutiny and withholding of approval, which is normally required for any contingent liability above £300,000, surely Parliament should have been presented with the results of the ongoing review of the liabilities during whatever time was available, and parliamentary time should have been scheduled to allow parliamentarians to scrutinise—
Hansard · 16 Sep 2025 · parliament.uk
SA
Steffan Aquarone
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. On 16 June , I asked a written question to the Department of Health and Social Care, seeking an update on plans for a new dental school at the University of East Anglia. This is a hugely important issue for people in Norfolk and has been raised by MPs across the House. I have been left …
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
It is totally unacceptable to treat any Member of any party in this House that way. To be left with a holding answer for three months is not acceptable. I am sure those on the Treasury Bench are now busily answering that question; if not, please let me know, and I am sure we can do something more about it.
CM
Calum Miller
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Last week, the House debated the incursion into Polish airspace by Russian drones, and there was clear cross-party unity on the need for the UK robustly to support our NATO allies. It is therefore deeply disappointing that the Secretary of State for Defence chose to announce the deploym…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I will be quite honest: this House should be treated with respect. The fact is that I am not quite sure whether the Secretary of State could have come to the House before the Typhoons were needed—and I never want to put the House in that position. I can assure the hon. Gentleman, however, that I have had no indication …
JC
Jeremy Corbyn
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Thank you for allowing me to raise a point of order, of which I have sent given you notice. Have you had an indication from the Foreign Secretary that the Government will either come to this House today, or that they will make a statement concerning the UN independent international comm…
Engagements16 Jul 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
Yet again, we are suffering record-breaking heatwaves and drought. That is worrying people in my constituency, which is both the fastest-growing and the most water-stressed area in the country. The proposed fens reservoir is important, but will provide water only for the already ambitious house building plans, not the thousands of new homes that the… Government propose. Does the Prime Minister agree that the water crisis in Greater Cambridge is a deal-breaker for the Government’s growth plans, and will he, as a matter of urgency, help me to convene a ministerial roundtable with the Cambridge water scarcity group?
Hansard · 16 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
JC
Jacob Collier
If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 16 July.
KS
Keir Starmer
There has always been support across this House for the United Kingdom fulfilling our obligations to Afghans who served alongside British forces. We warned in opposition about Conservative management of this policy, and yesterday the Defence Secretary set out the full extent of the failings that we inherited: a major d…
JC
Jacob Collier
Families in Burton and Uttoxeter are watching their smart meters like hawks, and dreading the moment when their energy bill lands on the doormat. I therefore welcome Labour’s warm home discount, which will mean £150 off energy bills for millions of people across this country, providing meaningful support in these diffi…
KS
Keir Starmer
I met my hon. Friend’s constituent Nicola in her kitchen, and she told me how hard she is working to support her three children, but that the past decade has let her down, with false promises and public services a wreck. She told me about the difference the warm home discount will make, and that £150 off her energy bil…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Leader of the Opposition.
Household Energy Bills15 Jul 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
We welcomed the joint agreement signed in May between the UK and the EU, in which small steps were taken to address the impacts of the Conservatives’ botched Brexit deal on energy costs and bills. What further steps will the Secretary of State take to forge energy co-operation through a recoupling of the UK and… EU electricity markets and the UK’s participation in the EU’s internal electricity market, to boost trade, bring down renewable energy costs and reduce energy bills?
Hansard · 15 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
AB
Alex Brewer
What steps he is taking to help reduce household energy bills.
EB
Elsie Blundell
What steps he is taking to help support low income families in the context of trends in the level of energy prices.
MW
Max Wilkinson
What steps he is taking to help reduce household energy bills.
MF
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We believe that the best way to protect households permanently is through our mission to deliver clean power by 2030. Combined with our warm homes plan to upgrade millions of homes across the country so that they are warmer and cheaper to run, that will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past. W…
AB
Alex Brewer
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 generat…
Topical Questions15 Jul 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
Across Europe, we have already seen 2,300 heatwave-related deaths—avoidable deaths—and the Met Office report says that things will just get worse. The Lib Dems and I have a really cool idea. Will the Secretary of State work with local authorities to open up public spaces with air conditioning, such as leisure centres and libraries, so… that they can provide relief from extreme heat for the elderly and vulnerable?
Hansard · 15 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
GS
Graham Stuart
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
EM
Ed Miliband
Since the last oral question time for the Department, the spending review announced the largest investment in clean energy in our country’s history—investment in new nuclear; in carbon, capture and storage; and in hydrogen transport and storage. We are investing £8.3 billion through Great British Energy and £13.2 billi…
GS
Graham Stuart
Evidence from the National Grid, Ofgem and Imperial College London shows that locational or zonal pricing would save billions of pounds a year, lower bills and reduce the need for expensive and often unpopular grid infrastructure. Why has the Secretary of State ruled it out?
EM
Ed Miliband
I made a comprehensive statement to the House on this last Thursday, and the grounds for the decision are these: first, there is the question of fairness, and secondly, there is the question of the cost of the transition and what would happen in the meantime. We need investment in our clean energy infrastructure, and w…
BG
Ben Goldsborough
In the fight for energy security, every area of our country must play its part, but that means energy infrastructure projects should be distributed evenly. What is the Department doing to ensure that no community will be asked to do more than its fair share?
Electricity Market Review10 Jul 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
I thank the Secretary of State for sharing his statement in advance. He is right: making the UK a clean energy superpower is the smartest and most strategic way to free ourselves from our dependence on expensive, volatile fossil fuels. However, as we have heard, accelerating the transition to renewables alone is not enough. The… Government have to ensure that the clean power mission ultimately brings down customers’ bills and creates a fairer system for households and businesses. Energy bills in the UK are among the highest in Europe. Our high costs exacerbate cost of living pressures and increase fuel poverty. They also undermine our international competitiveness for industrial and commercial consumers and risk driving some businesses overseas. The Liberal Democrats have long called for electricity prices to be decoupled from the wholesale price of gas so that families in the UK are not left paying over the odds for clean, British-generated electricity just because of volatile global gas prices. We will be looking closely at the details of the Government’s plan following the review of electricity market arrangements. The Secretary of State outlined his three tests. To ensure that British consumers are not exposed to an unknown level of risk, will he publish his cost-benefit analysis and set out what impact the changes will have on customers’ bills? We will also be looking keenly for the much-needed joined-up approach between planning for renewable energy infrastructure through the strategic spatial energy plan, and the land use framework and local area energy plans, which, worryingly, are a bit out of sync. Renewable energy can be the cheapest, most secure source of power, but for many people, seeing—and feeling it in their pocket—is believing, and under the current system, many are struggling to see it. Alongside the changes announced today, I hope the Secretary of State will consider other Liberal Democrat proposals, just as they did when putting into practice our
Hansard · 10 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
EM
Ed Miliband
With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I shall make a statement about the review of electricity market arrangements. The central challenge that we face is the urgent need to get off expensive, insecure fossil fuels and to deliver an energy system that meets at least double the level of current electricity demand by 205…
CN
Caroline Nokes
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
CC
Claire Coutinho
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. I know that this has been a difficult decision for him. He told everyone that his flagship mission was to commission more renewable power than ever before by 2030—more wind than ever before and faster than ever before in a market that was already facing…
EM
Ed Miliband
This is the first time I am at the Dispatch Box opposite the shadow Secretary of State; I congratulate her on her new baby boy and welcome her back to the House of Commons. I know from my own personal experience that crying at night is challenging, but who is surprised, given the state of the Conservative party? I thin…
CN
Caroline Nokes
I call the Chair of the Select Committee.
British National Overseas Visas: Settlement Rules7 Jul 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
Will the Minister clear up, once and for all, the further confusion over the proposed changes to the settlement period from five to 10 years? Will she clarify for the BNO visa holders living in my constituency whether the changes will be applied retrospectively or only prospectively, and will she confirm that those who are… already building their lives in the UK and working in important sectors in my constituency will not see their pathway to settlement unfairly changed mid-journey?
Hansard · 7 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
CC
Chris Curtis
Whether she plans to extend the qualifying settlement period for people with British national overseas visas.
SM
Seema Malhotra
This Government are firmly committed to supporting existing members of the Hong Kong community in the United Kingdom and those who may come here in future. The new rules on earned settlement will be subject to consultation. Following that consultation we will outline the way in which the new rules will operate, explain…
CC
Chris Curtis
Many of my constituents came to the UK from Hong Kong under the BNO visa scheme in search of safety, freedom and opportunity. They have shared with me their concerns about how the uncertainty involved in the changes in the visa system might affect their future here. Can the Minister provide reassurance that those on BN…
SM
Seema Malhotra
My hon. Friend is a strong and powerful advocate for members of the Hong Kong community in his constituency and throughout the UK. We recognise those concerns, and we are taking steps to ensure that BNO visa holders have an opportunity to share their views during the consultation on the new earned settlement and citize…
SM
Seema Malhotra
The BNO route reflects the UK’s historic and moral commitment to the people of Hong Kong who chose to retain their ties to the UK by taking up BNO status. As I have outlined, we will have a consultation. We will ensure that BNO visa holders have the opportunity to share their views during that consultation, and we will…
Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery30 Jun 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
I, too, thank the Minister for advance notice of the statement today. Our thoughts are with the workers at the Prax Lindsey refinery who have heard this last-minute, shocking news today, which has put their futures and jobs on hold. We understand that this is just one refinery within the Prax Group, but the threatened… closure will send shockwaves across its wider operations, with its newly acquired oilfields to the west of Shetland and roughly 200 petrol stations in the UK under the Breeze and Harvest Energy brands. While those facilities are outside the insolvency process as things stand, workers in those upstream businesses and the wider community will understandably be worried about the impact of the insolvency on their jobs. There are questions to be asked of the company bosses in both State Oil and the Prax Group, and it is good to hear the Secretary of State’s announcement of an investigation into how the company bosses have let workers down. We welcome the Minister’s words that the company should bear some responsibility and accountability for jobs and skills for those workers, if it turns out that the company closes. We welcome the Government’s proposals to consider adding refineries to the network charging compensation scheme for energy-intensive industries. Once again, as we have heard, we see UK industry buckling under soaring energy costs—some of the highest in Europe—with workers left to pay the price. Many in this House will feel a troubling sense of déjà vu following the Grangemouth job losses. We have heard from the Minister about the state of the refining industry and how the industry had not met the Government for 13 years. Such situations make it yet clearer that the Government must set out a comprehensive and strategic plan for workers in the oil and gas industry to support the redeployment of skills and training as part of a just transition. A recent report by Robert Gordon University warned that the UK risks losing tens of thousands of offshore
Hansard · 30 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
MS
Michael Shanks
With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement about the Prax Lindsey oil refinery. Today its owners have declared insolvency at the refinery, and the Government are urgently acting in response to that deeply concerning news. I know that will be extremely worrying news for workers at the refinery, as we…
CN
Caroline Nokes
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
AB
Andrew Bowie
I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement, and for taking the time to speak with me on this issue earlier today. Today, hundreds of jobs are at risk, and a strategically significant asset is in jeopardy. The Lindsey oil refinery has a capacity roughly equivalent to 35% of British petrol consumption and 10…
MS
Michael Shanks
I thank the shadow Minister for rightly reiterating the fact that it is not the whole of the business we are discussing that has gone into administration today. It is really important to say that there is certainty in other parts of the business—we will be able to outline more of that in the days and weeks ahead. I als…
CN
Caroline Nokes
I call the Chair of the Select Committee.
PH
Pippa Heylings
In conclusion, many thanks, Madam Deputy Speaker.
Schedule 2 - Assisted Dying Review Panels20 Jun 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
Will the hon. Member give way?
Hansard · 20 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
JC
James Cartlidge
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. There are reports of an extremely serious incident at Brize Norton, which is being described as vandalism but, if course, may be worse. Will there be a statement from the Ministry of Defence later?
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I can say that I have been given no notice of the incident at Brize Norton; I know nothing of the incident. Those on the Front Bench will have heard the point. I would not want to interrupt today’s proceedings. If the incident was that serious and somebody was so minded, we could always put something on at the end of p…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
A huge number of Members have indicated that they wish to speak in the debate. I hope that Members will restrict themselves to a reasonable amount of time—after the two opening speeches, I will advise on five minutes—to enable other colleagues to participate. We need shorter speeches to enable all Members, or as many a…
KL
Kim Leadbeater
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. It is an honour and a privilege to open the debate on Third Reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. It has been a long journey to get here, and I do not underestimate the significance of this day. It is not often that we are asked to wrestle with…
SH
Simon Hoare
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for giving way. What level of concern does it give her that, between Second Reading and today, a growing canon of professionals and their independent professional bodies have urged great caution about this Bill, not on the principle, but because they are opposed to the details of this Bil…
Energy Efficiency10 Jun 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
Warm wishes for your birthday, Mr Speaker—and I am going to talk about warmth, as you might expect. Over the last decade, we have seen so many households living in Dickensian conditions, with dark, damp and cold homes, and having to choose between heating and eating. With the warm homes plan widely recognised as the… most cost-effective way of making homes warmer, healthier and cheaper to heat, can the Secretary of State confirm exactly how many homes will be covered? Is the current scale of the plan truly sufficient to meet the challenge we face?
Hansard · 10 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
LS
Lisa Smart
What steps he is taking to improve the energy efficiency of homes.
EM
Ed Miliband
In 2025-26 alone, we will upgrade up to 300,000 homes through the warm homes plan and other measures. That is more than double the number of homes upgraded last year. Later this year, we will set out more details of a warm homes plan to upgrade up to 5 million homes, and there will be more details in the spending revie…
LS
Lisa Smart
Happy birthday, Mr Speaker. My Lib Dem predecessor, the much-missed Andrew Stunell, pushed for the zero carbon homes programme during his time in the 2010 to 2015 Government, having brought in his first Bill on that subject back in 2004. Sadly, those standards were scrapped as soon as the Conservatives were governing o…
EM
Ed Miliband
The hon. Lady raises an important question. The failure to have a zero carbon homes standard or future homes standard in place has meant that we have built over 1 million homes since then that are now going to have to be retrofitted. That makes no financial sense. It is right to put those upgrades in as standard from t…
SR
Sam Rushworth
What is the Secretary of State doing to make it more affordable for households to make their homes energy-efficient? The current model is that those who can afford to outlay some funding then get a taxpayer-funded subsidy, but those who cannot put down those first few thousand do not get that support.
Topical Questions10 Jun 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
The North sea’s future lies in clean energy, but despite the UK’s billing as a wind superpower, we still import most of our wind turbine components while communities around the North sea are losing jobs. Trade unions and industry are united in calling for £1.1 billion a year to build up domestic renewables manufacturing, but… the Chancellor has committed barely half that. Will the Secretary of State work with his Cabinet colleagues to secure the investment that is needed to realise the job-creating potential of the green just transition?
Hansard · 10 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
AM
Alice Macdonald
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
EM
Ed Miliband
Since the last Energy Security and Net Zero oral questions, the Government have confirmed that rooftop solar panels will be standard for all new build homes, delivered the first 11 solar on schools projects, scrapped the absurd 1-metre heat pump rule, secured Royal Assent for the Great British Energy Bill and, alongsid…
AM
Alice Macdonald
The east of England has a unique energy mix from offshore wind, hydrogen and nuclear. I welcome the game-changing investment in Sizewell C today. Can I ask specifically about wind? A new report from EastWind and Opergy says that in the east of England, we need more than 6,500 extra offshore wind farm workers. Does the …
EM
Ed Miliband
The east of England will be a clean energy powerhouse for the country. My hon. Friend raises an important issue about workforce, and we will be publishing the workforce plan soon.
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
Nuclear Power: Investment10 Jun 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
We welcome the Government’s renewed focus on energy security through nuclear power as part of the energy mix. It is long overdue, after years of dither and delay from successive Conservative Governments. It has been 16 years since Sizewell C was first announced in 2009, and now, seven Prime Ministers later, we are finally seeing… real movement. That is not a success story but a warning. Short-term thinking, poor delivery and exorbitant costs—
Hansard · 10 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
EM
Ed Miliband
With permission, I would like to make a statement about Government plans for investment in new nuclear power. Sixteen years ago, in 2009, as Energy Secretary I delivered a statement to this House identifying potential sites for new nuclear. I said: “We need to use all available low-carbon sources… New nuclear is right …
NT
Nick Timothy
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. The Conservative party is a pro-nuclear party and we welcome any decisions, backed by investment, that increase Britain’s nuclear capacity, because we cannot deliver cheap, reliable and secure energy without it. Although the investment announced today b…
EM
Ed Miliband
I feel a bit sorry for the hon. Gentleman; it is hard on a day like this to be an Opposition Member. Nevertheless, I will try to answer his questions, such as they are. On the question about the final investment decision, he will be aware that we are currently doing the private sector capital raise. When that is comple…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee.
BE
Bill Esterson
I warmly congratulate my right hon. Friend on delivering on his promise from 2009 and confirming Sizewell C, along with the vast array of commitments to a bright nuclear future for this country. The Select Committee looks forward to our inquiry in the autumn into the future of nuclear; we will be taking evidence and ma…
PH
Pippa Heylings
Will the hon. Member let me continue?
PH
Pippa Heylings
I cannot help but wonder whether the Secretary of State imagined when he stood at his Dispatch Box back in 2009 that he would be back in 2025 still announcing funding for the same project. We support investment in clean, home-grown energy. Small modular nuclear reactors have real potential to reduce our dependence on f…
New Clause 69 - Examination of applications for development consent9 Jun 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
I declare my interest as co-chair of the all-party group on local nature recovery. When the Government first introduced this Bill, they branded it a win-win. They said that we could build the homes and infrastructure that this country desperately needs and protect and restore nature. We have seen in my constituency—one of the fastest… growing areas of the country, with a Liberal Democrat-run local planning authority—that it is indeed possible to demand from developers both ambitious house building and high environmental standards that restore nature. We Liberal Democrats believe that a healthy childhood for all children includes homes that are energy-efficient and warm, not cold and damp; access to green space for mental and physical health; and infrastructure, including public transport, GPs and schools. When done well, nature is a partner to the healthy homes and green energy that our country needs. However, through this Bill, the Government risk taking a wrecking ball to good-quality development. Nature is not a blocker to development. We are pointing the figure at the wrong culprit, and this is cheap, false rhetoric. Nature is not to blame. The Government’s own watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection, has publicly warned that the Bill in its current form will be a regression from current environmental protections, rather than increasing the number of homes, helping nature and helping us to meet our binding climate and nature pledges. Instead it will remove vital safeguards and put protected sites and species at risk. Over 30 leading environmental organisations, including the RSPB, the wildlife trusts and the National Trust, have raised the alarm about part 3 of the Bill, with its very worrying plan to move to a “cash to trash” model for the nature restoration fund. I know the Minister has rejected that characterisation, but in the Environmental Audit Committee we heard robust evidence from expert witnesses that we could call it a “pay some amount later
Hansard · 9 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
MP
Matthew Pennycook
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
NG
Nusrat Ghani
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 1—Steps to be taken when exercising functions under Part 3— “When exercising any function or fulfilling any duty under Part 3 of this Act, the Secretary of State and Natural England must take all reasonable steps to— (a) avoid, prevent and reduce any …
MP
Matthew Pennycook
It is a real pleasure to bring this landmark Bill back to the House on Report. Let me begin by thanking hon. Members on both sides of the Chamber for their engagement with the Bill over recent months. In particular, I thank the hon. Members for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes), for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (David Simmo…
JS
Jim Shannon
I declare an interest as a member of the Ulster Farmers Union, the mother body of which is the National Farmers Union. Others will comment on this, but the UFU has told me that it is concerned about losing farmland for housing. Should it not be the policy of Government to ensure that brownfield sites are used first? If…
MP
Matthew Pennycook
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention—he knows I have great affection for him. He tempts me into a debate that does not directly relate to the Bill, but I can tell him the following: the Government’s position is brownfield-first when it comes to development. He knows that we strengthened the national plannin…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I completely concur. We appreciate the work done by my hon. Friend and others in the Bill Committee, and by tabling numerous amendments at this stage to help the Government improve the Bill. Why do we need more stringent regulations and demands on developers, rather than less? Why do we need evidence and mitigations ap…
Clean Energy Transition: Spending Review20 May 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
What steps she is taking through the spending review to support the transition to clean energy.
Hansard · 20 May 2025 · parliament.uk
DJ
Darren Jones
The Prime Minister’s plan for change sets out our ambitious but achievable target for clean power by 2030. We have already announced £300 million for offshore wind supply chains, in addition to the significant uplift for the clean industry bonus scheme. These measures support clean energy and growth in the UK’s industr…
DJ
Darren Jones
Our skilled workforce in the oil and gas industry will be important for the continued role of oil and gas in the energy mix, but also for the transition to renewable and net zero energy, as the hon. Lady has pointed out. That is why we have invested significant sums of money in carbon capture and storage, working with …
ES
Euan Stainbank
I welcome the £200 million commitment to Grangemouth and clean energy through the national wealth fund, and I also welcome the Department’s confirmation to me recently that that money will not be fettered exclusively to the Project Willow proposals. The need for investment is urgent, with jobs lost and the broader econ…
DJ
Darren Jones
I thank my hon. Friend, who is a champion for his constituency and for industry. As he has alluded to, the Government have already made hundreds of millions of pounds available through the national wealth fund for the company in question. We are working to ensure a just transition, harbouring the skills of people in Sc…
JW
James Wild
The Climate Change Committee says that we will need oil and gas until at least 2050, but rather than maximise North sea production, the Government are taxing it out of existence. Harbour Energy has just announced hundreds of job losses as a result of the Chancellor’s 78% windfall tax. Instead of costly transition impor…
PH
Pippa Heylings
Successive Governments have failed to deliver a fair energy transition for workers and communities. We have seen the devastating closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery, and now we are seeing uncertainty around the gas storage facility off the east coast. Just seven out of 87 offshore oil and gas companies are planning…
New Clause 10 - No obligation to provide assistance etc16 May 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
My hon. Friend is right to point out that compassion and fairness for those who are terminally ill are rightly at the heart of the Bill. Does he agree with my constituents who would like to see it extended to those terminally ill with motor neurone disease and neurodegenerative disorders, to give them choice and… dignity, too, by extending the eligibility period? [Interruption.]
Hansard · 16 May 2025 · parliament.uk
KL
Kim Leadbeater
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Amendment (a) to new clause 10, after subsection 8(b), insert— “(8A) Nothing in Schedule (Protection from Detriment) prevents an employer who has chosen not to participate in the provision of assistance in accordance with this Act from prohibiting their employee…
KL
Kim Leadbeater
It is a privilege to open the debate on this next important stage of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. It seems a long time ago that we held the Second Reading debate in November on what many of us felt was a very proud day for Parliament, when we saw an emotional and passionate but largely respectful debat…
JW
John Whitby
My hon. Friend mentioned many real stories influencing this debate. I will mention one more: my constituent Mick Murray, who is in the Public Gallery today. Mick helped two close friends, Bob and Ann, to make the painful journey to Dignitas. Both simply wanted to die at home with dignity and surrounded by loved ones; i…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. We will set the example by following the rules of the House. We will have short interventions, not speeches. There are a load of other Members.
Clause 3 - Objects14 May 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
I rise in strong support of Lords amendment 2B and the consequential amendment tabled by the hon. Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) . The Liberal Democrats welcome this key step by the Government towards preventing goods linked to Chinese slave labour from being part of our renewables businesses’ supply chains. The decision, as we have… heard, took time, and it is born of pressure from Members of all political parties and the sheer strength of feeling across both Houses. The Great British Energy Bill needed amending, and we thank the Government for reconsidering. I want to express in particular my appreciation of Lord Alton of Liverpool’s tireless advocacy. Together with Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, the Bill team and colleagues from across both Houses—with important input from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China—there has been a constructive and cross-party effort to confront an issue that is too often left in the shadows: the scourge of modern slavery in our energy supply chains. Groundbreaking investigative research has helped to shine the necessary light on what is at stake. We have heard irrefutable evidence from the BBC, The Guardian, and the world’s foremost expert on Uyghur forced labour, Professor Laura Murphy, that forced labour is being used to produce the solar-grade polysilicon that powers most of the global green transition.
Hansard · 14 May 2025 · parliament.uk
MS
Michael Shanks
I beg to move, That this House agrees with Lords amendment 2B in lieu.
NG
Nusrat Ghani
With this it will be convenient to discuss amendment (a) to Lords amendment 2B.
MS
Michael Shanks
I thank all Members of both Houses for their continued scrutiny of this important Bill. In particular, I extend my thanks to my noble Friend the Minister for Energy Security, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, for his expertise and, dare I say, resilience, which ensured that we reached the resolution that we are here to discuss…
EL
Edward Leigh
I am sure we can rely on the Minister to ensure that no solar panels are installed on British farms that are made by the Chinese Government, using slave labour. I am sure that he can assure us on that point.
MS
Michael Shanks
I have set that out in this debate in a number of ways. We have absolutely committed that Great British Energy will not invest in any supply chains in which there is any evidence of forced labour, and the measures that we are outlining today show how we will deliver that. There is a wider question about forced labour i…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. We have to name the report “In Broad Daylight” from Sheffield Hallam University, which found that all solar industry-relevant polysilicon producers in the Uyghur region were either using state-sponsored labour transfers of Uyghurs or were sourcing from companies that were. …
Sewage23 Apr 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
We welcome the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, but we urge the Government to go further, particularly with regard to the protection of chalk streams. That is very personal to me and to many Members across the House. I have campaigned for many years to stop the dumping of raw sewage and for the better… protection of our chalk streams, alongside campaign organisations, the Cam Valley Forum, and the many local river action groups for the Mel, the Granta, the Shep, the Rhee, the Wilbraham, the Orwell and the Cherry Hinton brook. Some progress has been made locally, with the hard-won award of a bathing water designation for the Sheep’s Green section of the River Cam. That has secured much-needed financing for clean-up actions by Anglian Water of the small sewage treatment work upstream in Haslingfield. However, not all our chalk streams can have bathing water designation as a mechanism of protection, especially when they have to struggle and suffer with overwhelmed small sewage treatment works as a result of unprecedented housing growth and development in our area. That is why I bemoan the fact that the 2025 Act and the Planning and Infrastructure Bill do not get rid of the damaging automatic right to connect for developers, which means that water companies cannot say whether they have the capacity to manage sewage in the area.
Hansard · 23 Apr 2025 · parliament.uk
NG
Nusrat Ghani
I inform the House that the Speaker has selected amendment (a) tabled in the name of the Prime Minister.
TF
Tim Farron
I beg to move, That this House regrets the persistent scandal of raw sewage being dumped by water companies into rivers, lakes and coastal areas; notes with deep concern that just 14% of rivers and lakes in England are in good ecological health; condemns the previous Government for letting water company bosses get away…
SD
Steve Darling
Over Easter in Torbay, we had five sewage spills according to the Surfers Against Sewage app. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is extremely disappointing to say the least that, rather than colleagues just getting their cossie and towel to go swimming at their favourite swimming spot, they must now also check the sewag…
TF
Tim Farron
I agree with my hon. Friend, who makes a really good point about his own communities. That is what we are trying to address today by bringing practical solutions to prevent this outrage. That 106% increase in the duration of sewage spills in just two years has been explained away on the record by water industry bosses …
AB
Alison Bennett
There were 754 spills in my constituency last year alone. We do not want to see those numbers anywhere, but in a constituency that does not have a major waterway, that is absurdly high. Does my hon. Friend agree that if we want to start genuinely holding these water companies to account, a great place to start would be…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I agree. In my South Cambridgeshire constituency alone, rivers and streams were polluted by sewage 728 times in 2024, lasting over 9,700 hours. That is the disgraceful legacy of the last Conservative Government. We need the protection that my hon. Friend mentions. We bemoan the fact that the Secretary of State and the …
PH
Pippa Heylings
My hon. Friend makes such a compelling argument for the protections and accountability that are needed in Wales. We need better protections for our chalk streams, which are unique habitats for nature. The Liberal Democrats will continue leading the fight against this sewage scandal. We will continue standing up for nat…
Onshore Wind and Solar Generation2 Apr 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
We are living in the shadow of the former Conservative Government’s failure to invest in renewable energy and insulate our homes. Those failures have contributed directly to an energy crisis that has left households struggling with soaring bills and businesses facing crippling costs. The majority of people polled in this country want to see more… action on climate change and saving our planet, not less. The Liberal Democrats are unwavering champions of renewable energy. Now more than ever, we need to strengthen our home-grown energy security and stop our dependency on despots such as Putin. We welcome the lifting of the effective moratorium on onshore wind, which we have long called for. That was an extremely short-sighted and irresponsible Conservative policy. The planning changes that they made in 2015 and 2016 introduced a de facto ban in England, resulting in a loss to our manufacturing and local economies. The project pipeline for onshore wind shrank by over 90%, and less than 40 MW was consented to and became operational in the intervening period.
Hansard · 2 Apr 2025 · parliament.uk
MS
Michael Shanks
I beg to move, That the draft Infrastructure Planning (Onshore Wind and Solar Generation) Order 2025, which was laid before this House on 10 March , be approved. Good afternoon, Madam Deputy Speaker. This instrument is another important step in supporting the deployment of onshore wind and solar, which are critical to …
AM
Andrew Murrison
Rather than traducing what remains of our countryside, what assessment has the Minister made of the UK-Morocco power project run by Xlinks, which would deliver 11.5 GW of energy and power about 8% of our grid needs? It would seem that the block to this project is not the Moroccan Government, nor the Governments of coun…
MS
Michael Shanks
I give credit to the right hon. Gentleman for the ingenious way he brought that up in a debate on solar and wind in the UK. He raises a good point. We are looking at the detail of a proposal that has been put forward by a private company—I am not going to say anything more on the Floor of the House.
MS
Michael Shanks
I have given way already. Turning back to the statutory instrument in front of us, until recently the de facto ban on onshore wind generation in England introduced by the Conservatives limited the deployment of onshore wind in England. Those changes to the planning legislation set an almost impossible bar to meet, resu…
LI
Leigh Ingham
This legislation is crucial to achieving our net zero commitments. GE Vernova, a renewables company in Stafford, Eccleshall and the villages, struggled with really long waiting times for an expansion of its site, but it has recently been approved, which means good new jobs for people who live in my constituency. That e…
PH
Pippa Heylings
We are absolutely and critically supportive of a just transition in the North sea, to move off fossil fuels alongside and parallel to our increased use of renewable energy. It is therefore right to reintroduce onshore wind into the nationally significant investment regime, ensuring that there is a level playing field w…
PH
Pippa Heylings
That is exactly the point I am making. I have been talking with my constituents, particularly about the controversial new large-scale Kingsway solar farm in my constituency. We need a land use framework and a strategic spatial energy plan that tells us and informs local planning and decision making about the scale of s…
Business of the House27 Mar 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
Addenbrooke’s hospital in my constituency has launched a major expert clinical inquiry, following worrying evidence that nine young children suffered worse outcomes than expected following surgery by a now suspended paediatric orthopaedic surgeon. I have written a letter to the hospital requesting that a 2016 report into the same area be sent to the Secretary… of State for Health and Social Care and me. Will the Leader of the House help secure an opportunity for me to meet the Secretary of State to discuss that report and the new inquiry, so that we can ensure that it is open and transparent, and so that we can reassure patients, families and the staff of the organisation, and ensure that there is no retaliation against any whistleblowers?
Hansard · 27 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
I shall. The business for the week commencing 31 March includes: Monday 31 March —Consideration of Lords message on the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill, followed by remaining stages of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [Lords]. Tuesday …
JN
Jesse Norman
May I start by thanking the whole House for their wonderful messages of condolence during last week’s business questions? I could not be more grateful. I single out, in particular, the Leader of the House for her very gracious remarks. I turn from fathers to mothers, as this Sunday, of course, is Mother’s Day. The infa…
LP
Lucy Powell
I join the right hon. Gentleman in saying that it was really heartwarming to hear so many tributes paid to his father at last week’s business questions. Such moments show the House at its best, and I thank him for bringing his eulogy to the Floor of the House. I also join him in looking forward to Mothering Sunday—mayb…
DT
Derek Twigg
I refer the Leader of the House to the public office standards Bill, better known as the Hillsborough law, which is how I would like to refer to it. She will know my history in what happened at Hillsborough and, subsequently, with the independent panel report, and the involvement I had in the negotiations between Minis…
Clause 3 - Objects25 Mar 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
Alongside community groups across the country, including Power for People and Community Energy England, I am pleased to welcome the inclusion of community energy and benefits in the Bill through Lords amendment 1. It was possible after all, and I congratulate the Government on taking this step. We Liberal Democrats have pushed hard for that… in this House and the other place, but there has been a lot of cross-party working to achieve it, and I am delighted that its inclusion is now enshrined in law. This is a victory for community voices, giving them a real stake in the energy transition through full or partial ownership of local power. Communities like mine in South Cambridgeshire, where many are off grid and struggling with volatile oil prices, want to generate and sell their own green energy locally. It is absurd that that is not possible.
Hansard · 25 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
MS
Michael Shanks
I beg to move, That this House agrees with Lords amendment 1.
CN
Caroline Nokes
With this it will be convenient to discuss: Lords amendment 2, amendments (a) and (b), and Government motion to disagree. Lords amendments 3 to 12.
MS
Michael Shanks
I am pleased that the Great British Energy Bill has returned to this House. I would like to thank all Members of both Houses for their scrutiny of this important legislation. I extend my thanks in particular to the Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, for his invaluable support and colla…
IS
Iain Duncan Smith
That is not altogether correct. The Minister will know full well that the Procurement Act can only be enacted once a supplier has had a conviction under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act. To do that, proceedings have to be able to be taken against the company that is involved in the slavery. A British company involv…
MS
Michael Shanks
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his contribution and his many years of work on this issue. I will come to some of the detail in addition to this measure, but it is important to say that the debarment list, which was part of the Act passed by the Conservative Government, has been in force since February and will be…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I completely agree. The Great British Energy Bill gives a statutory steer that helps us have those long-term plans. The clean energy transition has to be done with communities, not to communities. I commend the Government for committing an additional £5 million to the community energy fund, bringing certainty at least …
PH
Pippa Heylings
I completely agree. That is why the Liberal Democrats will continue to call for restrictions on trade with regions where abuses take place, including Xinjiang, and advocate for Magnitsky-style sanctions against individuals and entities involved in Uyghur persecution. This is about more than Britain. It is about playing…
School Exclusion: Pupils with SEND10 Mar 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
What recent assessment she has made of trends in the number of school exclusions of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
Hansard · 10 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
SM
Stephen Morgan
Every child has the right to succeed in education. We publish data termly and review trends, including where pupils with SEND are disproportionately affected by exclusions. We know that some groups of children are at higher risk of exclusion, which is why the Government are breaking down barriers to opportunity by ensu…
SM
Stephen Morgan
I thank the hon. Member for sharing Harry’s story—I know she is a champion for such issues in her constituency. The Government’s ambition is for all children with SEND to receive the right support to succeed. The curriculum assessment review will look at how barriers to exclusion can be removed and high standards suppo…
SS
Sarah Smith
Permanent exclusion from primary school should be an almost non-existent occurrence. Any primary-age pupils exhibiting difficult behaviours should undertake diagnosis for SEND, and best efforts should be made to understand any trauma that the child may have suffered. What is the Minister doing to ensure that we build a…
SM
Stephen Morgan
We are aware that some groups of children have a higher risk of exclusion, which is why we are breaking down barriers to opportunity, to ensure that every child can achieve and thrive. We are committed to ensuring earlier intervention in mainstream schools for pupils, particularly those at risk of exclusion.
PH
Pippa Heylings
Too many children with SEND in South Cambridgeshire are out of school, due not only to exclusion but to the long waiting times for specialist or alternative provision when mainstream schools cannot meet their needs. I was shocked to hear about Harry, a constituent of mine who has been receiving just two hours of forest…
Breakfast Clubs: Early Adopters24 Feb 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
I thank and congratulate the headteachers and staff at Meldreth, Great Wilbraham and Stapleford primary schools in my constituency. Will the Minister explain to them how important it is that the learning that takes place in those schools will ensure the roll-out of breakfast clubs to all schools in my constituency and across the country?
Hansard · 24 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
BP
Bridget Phillipson
With permission, I will make a statement updating the House on the Government’s work to deliver free breakfast clubs and give every child the best start in life. This is a Government who act on their principles, deliver on their promises and drive the change that the country needs—change that is felt in our villages, t…
NO
Neil O'Brien
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of the statement. The previous Government substantially expanded access to breakfast clubs in primary and secondary schools, and crated the holiday activities and food programme. The national school breakfast programme has been running since 2018, and 85% of schools now …
BP
Bridget Phillipson
The shadow Minister asks a number of questions, but at no point did he welcome the massive investment and the benefits that this provision will bring to children across our country, including in his own constituency—not a word of support. I hope when the breakfast club in his constituency opens, he might take time to v…
CN
Caroline Nokes
I call the Chair of the Education Committee.
HH
Helen Hayes
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement today. I welcome the news that St Luke’s Church of England primary school in my constituency will be one of the early adopters of a universal breakfast club under the programme. All too often, children with special educational needs and disabilities are excluded from ext…
New Clause 1 - Management of the Crown Estate in Wales24 Feb 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
I extend my thanks to colleagues in the other place, the Public Bill Office staff and those in this House who served on the Bill Committee. Their efforts have been invaluable in scrutinising and refining the Bill. I support the Bill. However, the Liberal Democrat amendments seek to ensure that it delivers for both people… and the planet. While the Bill presents opportunities—it aims to enhance energy security, create new jobs and bring us closer to achieving our climate targets—we must not lose sight of the need for financial accountability, proportionate borrowing caps, the duty to protect nature in the marine environment and the necessity of taking communities with us and providing them with clear, tangible benefits. It is important to note that our discussion coincides with the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its consequences not only for the Ukrainians suffering the war, but for families here in the UK with volatile, skyrocketing energy prices due to our reliance on fossil fuels from authoritarian regimes like Putin’s: a stark reminder of the need to secure the production of our energy here in the UK. The last Conservative Government set the UK back both in meeting our climate targets and in seizing the opportunity to be global leaders in green energy due to indecision and broken pledges. We have the chance to be global leaders in offshore floating wind, which is why the Bill is so important. I speak to amendment 2 to clause 3, which I hope we will vote on tonight. It would ensure that sustainable development was clearly defined in the Crown Estate’s framework agreement, explicitly including a reference to a climate and nature duty. The Crown Estate plays a crucial role in managing our land, seas and natural resources. It is central to offshore wind expansion, biodiversity conservation and sustainable land use. Given its influence, merely requiring its commissioners to “keep under review” their impact on sustainable development is insufficie
Hansard · 24 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
LM
Llinos Medi
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
CN
Caroline Nokes
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 2—Marine Spatial Planning: coordination— “In relation to any decisions made about marine spatial priorities, the Crown Estate must— (a) ensure that the decisions are coordinated with the priorities of the Marine Maritime Organisation, and (b) consult …
LM
Llinos Medi
New clause 1 transfers the management of the Crown Estate in Wales to the Welsh Government within two years of the commencement of the Act. The principle behind it is simple: the people of Wales should control and benefit from their own natural resources. For much of Welsh history, that has not been the case, with reso…
HT
Henry Tufnell
We live in uncertain times, and as a nation we face many challenges ahead. For one, there is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The impact on our domestic energy prices has shown the extent of our reliance on the international oil and gas markets. Since 2022, gas prices for households across the country have spiked, and the…
JS
Jim Shannon
Of course, a key issue for all of us in the United Kingdom, and certainly for us in Northern Ireland, is the fishing sector. Any net zero development, such as a wind farm—wind farms have been proposed for my constituency in the past—could have a direct impact on the fishing sector there. Does the hon. Gentleman share m…
PH
Pippa Heylings
We will not be pressing this new clause to a vote, but the new investment and borrowing powers change the context for the 2020 memorandum of understanding. I ask for reassurance that we might seek a new memorandum of understanding between the Marine Management Organisation and the Crown Estate.
Energy Infrastructure: Chinese Companies12 Feb 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine) for securing this important urgent question. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as the Minister has rightly said, “energy security” has been a key term in this Chamber. There are two ways of looking at energy security. First, it is about generating our… own renewable energy to avoid price volatility and exposure to authoritarian regimes, ensuring that we have the jobs here at home for design and construction. Secondly, it is about the national security issues around our energy infrastructure, which is also a form of energy security. A former MI6 chief has warned of the vulnerabilities, either deliberate or inadvertent, posed by foreign-controlled software embedded in our energy infrastructure. Given those serious concerns, can the Minister guarantee that any further investment in Scotland will increase both our energy and our national security?
Hansard · 12 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
CJ
Christine Jardine
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero if he will make a statement on the potential security implications of the involvement of Chinese companies, including Mingyang, in energy infrastructure projects.
KM
Kerry McCarthy
I thank the hon. Lady for bringing the urgent question to the House. The protection and security of the energy sector is an absolute priority for this Government. We have a range of effective measures in place that give the Government powers to balance an open investment environment to facilitate growth with protecting…
CJ
Christine Jardine
I thank the Minister for her comments and general reassurances, but there are specific concerns at the moment. China can produce what is useful to us for the development of renewables, particularly in the North sea, and we can benefit from those investments. China also needs access to our markets. However, security iss…
KM
Kerry McCarthy
The hon. Lady raises important concerns that we are very much alive to. As I said in my first answer, energy security is critical to the Department’s work and that is why we have the clean power mission to end our dependency on fossil fuels. International investment is a crucial part of that and helps to support growth…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Chair of the Select Committee.
Rosebank and Jackdaw Oilfields10 Feb 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
The decisions that we make in the next decade on energy will make or break the planet, and this is also key for the Jackdaw and Rosebank oilfields. Should the proposed developers apply for a new development consent, the ruling gives the Government the opportunity to take a rational, science-based approach and make a decision… on the future of the field based on what is best for the planet, the people of Britain and the UK’s international leadership. Contrary to what has been said by the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie) , approving these oilfields this will not protect UK workers. Despite promises of jobs, not a single UK design or construction role has been created. Instead, that work has been outsourced to Dubai. Business leaders agree that a fair transition away from oil and gas will boost our economy, create jobs and attract investment. The Liberal Democrats oppose the oilfields at Jackdaw and Rosebank. Instead of pouring money into an energy source that is not consistent with our climate commitments, we should be calling on the Government to invest in renewables and an ambitious green energy strategy that lowers costs, creates jobs and secures our future. What assessment will the Minister make of our climate commitments?
Hansard · 10 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
AB
Andrew Bowie
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero if he will make a statement on the ruling on the Rosebank and Jackdaw oilfields as unlawful.
MS
Michael Shanks
The Government’s priority is to deliver a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North sea that recognises the role that oil and gas will play in the coming decades. This transition will be in line with our climate and legal obligations. It will drive us towards our clean energy future of energy security, lower…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. Just for clarification, you do not have jurisdiction on the planning issue, and it is no longer in the court, so I am a little bit confused by your assertion that you will be involved going forward.
MS
Michael Shanks
I am happy to provide clarification based on the advice that I have, which is that this is a matter for the applicants in the court case, who are entitled to appeal the judgment, should they wish to do so. If they wish to make a further application in this matter, my Department will be responsible for making that judgm…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Well, kind of, but obviously Members will want to ask you about this issue today, so I do not want to try to close it down too early.
Biomass Generation10 Feb 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
I thank the Minister for sharing his statement with us in advance. Climate change and nature loss are undoubtedly the greatest twin threats we face. While pursuing the clean power by 2030 goal, the Government need to reconsider their decision to indeterminately extend the burning of biomass as part of the energy mix, despite overwhelming… evidence that it is neither sustainable nor truly renewable, especially with the threat to virgin forests. The Minister says biomass is vital for energy security, supplying 5% of the UK’s electricity. However, he fails to mention that biomass emits 18% more carbon dioxide than coal and that it takes nearly a century for new trees to absorb those emissions. That is not energy security; it is a carbon ticking time bomb. We are told by the Minister that NESO advised that Drax was a necessity between 2027 and 2031 to prevent supply risks. That is due to the reckless rowing back by the former Government, the absence of accelerated investment in renewables and the continued investment in Drax as part of their strategy, but what kind of future are we building if it depends on burning forests rather than investing in real renewable energy sources? On costs, the Minister tells us that biomass at Drax is cheaper than gas-fired power, but we must not forget that past subsidies by the former Government allowed Drax to profit excessively at the expense of bill payers. Even today, despite halved subsidies, Drax’s shares have surged, suggesting that even this deal remains a good deal for Drax and potentially a bad one for taxpayers. We therefore call on the Government to release the 2022 KPMG report into Drax’s subsidy claims, which should have been released under the Conservative Government. Transparency is crucial and the public deserve to know if their money has been misused. I will end by asking: are we looking for home-grown clean energy—
Hansard · 10 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
MS
Michael Shanks
With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to make a statement about support for biomass electricity generation. My apologies to the House for it having to put up with even more of me. In January 2024 the previous Government launched a consultation on supporting large-scale biomass generators when existing sup…
AB
Andrew Bowie
I also apologise, as I am sure that the House is a little fed up hearing the Minister and me this afternoon. I thank the Minister for advance sight of this statement. In the past few weeks it has been difficult not to feel at least a little sorry for Ministers in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. First, …
MS
Michael Shanks
“Under new management,” indeed! The tough thing about being the acting shadow Secretary of State is that it is not, of course, his script that the hon. Gentleman is reading out. This Government are fixing the mistakes left by the previous Government. I gently point out that eight previous Conservative Energy Ministers …
JC
Judith Cummins
I call the Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee.
BE
Bill Esterson
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Minister on his marathon stint and on the pragmatic and well-crafted analysis of how the Government’s energy policies will address the security of supply and provide the best deal for bill payers. This is in stark contrast to what the Conservatives did, and in particular to what my hon…
Home Insulation Schemes4 Feb 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
As we have been hearing, Dickensian conditions of cold, damp and mouldy homes are shamefully on the increase. In my constituency, more than 4,000 households are having to make that difficult decision between eating and heating because of the previous Government’s dither and delay on insulation. However, even now, local authorities and families are in… limbo, anxiously awaiting confirmation of the 2025-26 funding for ECO4 and the Great British Insulation scheme through a ministerial statement. Will the Minister act with the urgency that is needed to bring those schemes and the warm home scheme forward to tackle fuel poverty?
Hansard · 4 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
AG
Andrew George
What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Government-funded home insulation schemes.
MF
Miatta Fahnbulleh
Home insulation delivers warm homes and lower bills. I have visited Government-backed schemes across the country and seen their impact on households and consumers, but we also know that there are too many examples of homes not being upgraded to the required standard. We are not happy or comfortable with that. We are co…
AG
Andrew George
Further to the questions raised by the hon. Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) and several other hon. Members, I, too, have picked up numerous cases in my constituency of Government-sponsored defective home insulation work and of extortionate, poor-quality and defective work of unscrupulous cowboy contractors who masquera…
MF
Miatta Fahnbulleh
The hon. Gentleman is right: it is just not good enough for any householder to get a home upgrade that is not up to standard. I am sorry to hear about the example of Mrs King. We are working with Members across the House on supporting a number of individual cases. If it is a Government-backed scheme that is at fault, m…
CN
Caroline Nokes
I call the Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee.
Topical Questions4 Feb 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
While we eagerly await progress on bringing community energy into the Great British Energy Bill when it comes back to this House, will Ministers reassure community groups around the country that they will enlarge and expand the community energy fund of £10 million, which is so successful that it is currently oversubscribed?
Hansard · 4 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
JL
John Lamont
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
EM
Ed Miliband
In recent weeks, we have seen continuing rises in prices in global fossil fuel markets, with wholesale gas prices last month 60% higher than a year ago, which is caused by a number of factors. I want to be clear with the House: as long as Britain remains so dependent on fossil fuels, we will be in the grip of these glo…
JL
John Lamont
The Scottish Borders has some of the most beautiful countryside in the whole of the United Kingdom, but it is going to be destroyed by the massive pylons being built by ScottishPower Energy Networks in pursuit of Scottish Government and UK Government policy. Does the Secretary of State think it is right to charge ahead…
EM
Ed Miliband
I say to the hon. Gentleman, and I have said it throughout this Question Time, that local communities should have a say, but we have a decision to make as a country. Do we build the clean energy infrastructure to protect us from volatile fossil fuel markets, or do businesses, families and the public finances—£94 billio…
OR
Oliver Ryan
Green energy is the economic opportunity of the 21st century, and in an ever more unstable world, home-grown renewables are critical to our security and self-sufficiency. What will the Secretary of State do to make sure that Burnley, Padiham and Brierfield, and places like those, benefit from new green jobs growth?
New Clause 18 - Special provision in charges schemes28 Jan 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
Will the hon. Member give way?
Hansard · 28 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
EH
Emma Hardy
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
NG
Nusrat Ghani
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 1—Water Restoration Fund— “(1) No more than 60 days after the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must by regulations make provision for the establishment, operation and management of a Water Restoration Fund. (2) A Water Restorati…
EH
Emma Hardy
What a delight it is to be back in the Chamber debating this transformational Bill. I will keep my opening comments brief, because I know that many want to speak, and I will respond to amendments tabled by hon. Members when closing this debate after hon. Members have spoken to them, as is established practice. I want t…
JH
John Hayes
I am grateful to the Minister for giving way and for her ongoing discussions about drainage and local authorities and other water-related matters. On the issue of water poverty, can she confirm that, either as part of the Bill or as an adjunct to it, when water companies fail to deliver an adequate service in new build…
EH
Emma Hardy
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention and also for the many times that he has talked to me about internal drainage boards since I became a Minister. On his question, if customers are not getting the service to which they are entitled, that is absolutely something that should be taken through Ofwat and t…
PH
Pippa Heylings
The water restoration fund was created by the previous Government, yet not one penny of the £11 million levied on water companies between 2022 and 2023 reached any restoration of the waterways. Does the Minister agree that our precious chalk streams could be helped by the water restoration fund being continued?
Topical Questions27 Jan 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
We know that early diagnosis is critical to effective SEND provision, but there is a national crisis in the number and availability of educational psychologists. Given that Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission are jointly investigating Cambridgeshire SEND services, will the Minister meet me and the council to discuss the outcome and actions from that?
Hansard · 27 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
MT
Mike Tapp
If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
BP
Bridget Phillipson
Today marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. As the years slip away, our duty to remember only strengthens. I have had the privilege in recent months of listening to the powerful and deeply moving testimony of Holocaust survivors in person, including Renee Salt and Mala Tribich. It is vital…
MT
Mike Tapp
I recently launched an exciting new reading initiative across Dover and Deal called Tapp into Reading. We tour the schools and the children read theatrically from a VE Day text. This will end in May, at a theatre. Will the Education Secretary join the judging panel then?
BP
Bridget Phillipson
That brilliant initiative shows what a champion my hon. Friend is for his constituents, and I will consider his request seriously. I would certainly be happy to visit his constituency soon and to work with him—perhaps also on how his local schools might be able to join the UK-Ukraine school partnerships programme, whic…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
Climate and Nature Bill24 Jan 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
I, too, have seen “Kyoto”, and I have spent 20 years attending all the climate negotiations. Given that the hon. Member has spoken about cross-party consensus and the need to build the necessary political momentum, will she show respect for the huge efforts made by my hon. Friend the Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage)… ? She did receive commitments that will enable us to move forward—not at the pace that we want, but together—and I am very worried about the way in which the hon. Member is undermining the efforts that have been made to move forward with this.
Hansard · 24 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
SH
Simon Hoare
As I was saying—[Laughter.] I was tempted to scare the House by saying, “Having concluded my opening remarks,” but I think I had better not. If I may, I will address directly the Minister on the Treasury Bench, the hon. Member for Coventry East (Mary Creagh) . I want to do so sincerely, because I like and admire her en…
AM
Alice Macdonald
I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill and on this very important subject. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) for her passionate speech and for giving us all an opportunity to discuss this subject. I also welcome the contribution from the hon. Member for North Dorset (Simon Hoare) …
AB
Andrew Bowie
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a pleasure to speak on behalf of His Majesty’s official Opposition, and I congratulate the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) on bringing this private Member’s Bill before the House today. The Conservative and Unionist party has a record of which we should be incredibly p…
MW
Max Wilkinson
The hon. Gentleman will of course also congratulate the Labour Government before 2010 and the Liberal Democrat coalition on their good work, and it is important, in the spirit of consensus, to do that. However, does he agree that one important issue that is always missing from the debate about climate is national secur…
AB
Andrew Bowie
I could not agree more with the hon. Member; in fact, it is quite nice to hear the Liberal Democrats acknowledge that they were actually part of the Government over the last 14 years—they do not always choose to do so. As to the point about national security and energy security, that is why I am so concerned about the …
PH
Pippa Heylings
Does my hon. Friend agree with my constituent Freya, who says: “I am 15 and I am afraid. I can do things in the community, but unless we have joined-up Government action, we have no hope”? We have various Ministers here as a result of this private Member’s Bill, which addresses the yawning gap between Departments.
New Homes (Solar Generation) Bill17 Jan 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
King’s College in Cambridge, one of the oldest and most prestigious heritage buildings, now has a fine array of solar panels that it managed to get through planning permission. Does the right hon. Member agree that what we need in planning terms is for material weight to be given to climate change, as well as… conservation status? That is where the crux of the matter is. It would allow all those who are responsible for listed homes or who have homes in conservation areas to do energy efficiency in the right way.
Hansard · 17 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
MW
Max Wilkinson
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. I move the Bill with sunshine in my heart. I am an environmentalist, I have fought for years to improve the housing market in my town of Cheltenham, and I strongly believe that we all deserve a fairer deal on the cost of living. I was elected in July after campaig…
WM
Wendy Morton
I genuinely welcome today’s Second Reading of the Bill. Having brought two private Members’ Bills through Parliament from the Back Benches, I wish the hon. Gentleman every success; it can be a long journey. Will he say more about the impact of solar panels on the environment and the green belt? In the shift towards usi…
MW
Max Wilkinson
The right hon. Lady is entirely right. She and Members across the House will have noted that the Campaign to Protect Rural England has taken a strong interest in this issue and in the Bill, for precisely the reasons she describes, with which I have a lot of sympathy. Efficient use of land and space in this country is e…
PF
Patricia Ferguson
I am pleased to see the Bill in the House today, but am not quite so entranced by the hon. Member’s puns, or by his making me feel completely and utterly ancient. Setting aside that niggle, on a serious point, does he agree that it is important for us to have a secure supply chain for solar panels, and that we eliminat…
MW
Max Wilkinson
The hon. Member makes a very reasonable point. We need to be clear that our supply chains in this country are free from slave labour. That is a matter for Government procurement rules, and I understand that measures on that will come to the House in due course. As I was saying, I understand the developers’ motives and …
PH
Pippa Heylings
As the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for energy security and net zero, I am delighted to support the private Member’s Bill of my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Max Wilkinson) : the sunshine Bill. Madam Deputy Speaker, I am beaming. South Cambridgeshire is one of the fastest growing constituencies in the country…
PH
Pippa Heylings
It will not surprise anyone to hear that I agree wholeheartedly. The record has been corrected. It is vital that the Bill helps to repair that damage, and we look forward to the Minister’s commitment to bringing about these changes. As has been mentioned, the lack of ambition on the solar rooftop revolution has contrib…
Gas Storage Levels13 Jan 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
The hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie) is right to raise this important question about energy security. Gas supplies are running low because of the unexpected cold snap over the past two weeks. While those who can afford it have continued to use gas, the energy crisis has left energy prices skyrocketing… and energy bills spiralling, with many having to make the decision between putting food on the table or staying warm. That is the case for too many families in my constituency of South Cambridgeshire. The shadow Minister accused the Government of playing fast and loose, but it is due to the decisions of the last Conservative Government that we find ourselves in this mess, with their reckless dither and delay over insulation and decarbonising our homes and the irresponsible decision around our gas storage capacity. This is about overreliance on gas. For too long—
Hansard · 13 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
AB
Andrew Bowie
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero if he will make a statement on gas storage levels.
MS
Michael Shanks
Energy security is a key priority for this Government, and at no time was there any concern about Britain’s energy system being able to meet demand. Our systems worked entirely as intended. We had capacity to deal with market constraints, and that has been backed up by the two authoritative voices on this issue in the …
AB
Andrew Bowie
All our constituents will be aware of the freezing temperatures experienced across the United Kingdom last week, dipping to minus 18° in the north of Scotland. However, many will not be aware of just how close this country came to an energy shortage, blackouts, or demand control—closer than at any point in the past 15 …
MS
Michael Shanks
The shadow Minister’s point would be well made were it not for the fact that it is completely untrue. If we look at the facts, the capacity market notice that he mentions was cancelled—
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. The Minister has made a direct hint that what the Member said was untrue. Is he sure of that, or does he want to rephrase it?
PH
Pippa Heylings
I am. What steps are the Government taking to reduce overreliance on gas by bringing in an emergency home upgrade scheme that will enable people to insulate and to keep their homes warm with heat pumps this winter, rather than waiting until spring?
Start for Life Services7 Jan 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
What steps he is taking to extend Start for Life services to South Cambridgeshire constituency.
Hansard · 7 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
AG
Andrew Gwynne
We believe that every child deserves the best start in life. Due to the challenging fiscal context, we are initially prioritising family hubs and Start for Life funding to areas of high deprivation. We will consider the case for extension to South Cambridgeshire in future financial years.
AG
Andrew Gwynne
Local authorities were pre-selected using the income deprivation affecting children index average rank scores, with a rural and urban weighting applied. Tackling child inequalities in health and outcomes is crucial. As resources allow, it is the ambition of the Government to ensure that Start for Life services reach ev…
PH
Pippa Heylings
We know how important the best start in life is for opportunities for all. Only half upper-tier local authorities currently receive prioritised Start for Life and family hub funding—78 do not. In South Cambridgeshire, officers are doing huge work to provide support and signposting without dedicated funding, which means…
Crown Estate Bill [Lords]7 Jan 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
I begin by extending my gratitude to all those who have worked tirelessly in the Lords on the Bill over the past seven months. I note in particular the way in which full transparency was offered and delivered by Lord Livermore, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, in response to requests for clarification and evidence.… I hope that we can replicate such co-operation as the Bill passes through this House. The objectives of the Bill are to broaden the investment and borrowing powers of the Crown Estate and to strengthen its corporate governance, in order to help accelerate, among other things, the delivery of new renewable energy, particularly offshore wind. We are generally supportive of the Bill and would welcome further scrutiny on issues such as the cap on borrowing; accountability in the relationship with Great British Energy; managing the conflicts between competing interests and values of our seabed and coastline, as mentioned by my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) ; community benefit; devolution in Wales; and our climate and nature duty. I will proceed to elucidate those issues. In the UK, we are off track in meeting our climate targets, following previous years when the Conservatives have dithered and rowed back on pledges. We need to increase investment in renewable energy in order to strengthen our energy security and to help families keep warm and lower their energy bills, particularly during this cost of living crisis. As a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, families and businesses have been left exposed to skyrocketing bills. For far too long we have been reliant on autocrats such as Putin to meet our energy needs. The Crown Estate oversees 200,000 acres of land, 12,000 km of coastline and a seabed area larger than the combined land mass of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the owner and steward of the seabed, the Crown Estate leases plots to offshore wind developers and other infrastructure projects, pla
Hansard · 7 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
DJ
Darren Jones
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. May I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Alex McIntyre) on his moving ten-minute rule Bill, which he just presented? The purpose of the Crown Estate Bill is to bring legislation governing the Crown Estate into the 21st century. The Crown Estate is a…
SF
Stephen Flynn
I hope the Minister will not hear much disagreement about the points he is making so eloquently. However, may I query why these provisions and powers, which he believes are relevant for the Crown Estate in England and Wales, are not also being provided to the Crown Estate in Scotland?
DJ
Darren Jones
As the right hon. Gentleman knows, Crown Estate Scotland is a separate organisation to the Crown Estate that is the subject of the Bill. Of course, we continue to have conversations and we will be pleased to talk to him and others about that issue for the future.
SF
Stephen Flynn
On that point, will the Minister give way?
DJ
Darren Jones
I will make some progress. The second objective of the Bill is to enable the Crown Estate to invest in capital-intensive projects more effectively. It does so by empowering the Crown Estate to reduce the size of the cash reserves it needs to hold, thereby expanding its ability to use its land and property assets far mo…
PH
Pippa Heylings
Indeed, I read the report of the debate in the Lords, and there was a passionate request for the Crown Estate in Wales to be devolved to the Welsh Administration and for the benefits to be felt by Welsh communities. We look forward to discussing that in Committee. Another crucial area that has been mentioned is the map…
Topical Questions6 Jan 2025
PH
Pippa Heylings
The Defence Secretary said in October that despite conflict returning to Europe, the number of Army personnel would drop to below 70,000 next year, the lowest level since 1793. The problem is not just recruitment, but retention. More people are leaving than are joining. In 2023, 15,000 people left the armed forces, while only 11,000… joined. Will he commit to addressing the recruitment-retention balance in this year’s strategic defence review?
Hansard · 6 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
RS
Rebecca Smith
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
JH
John Healey
On this first day after the recess, I thank all armed forces personnel who worked over Christmas, including the nearly 10,000 personnel deployed overseas, and the crew of HMS Somerset, who were recalled on Christmas day to shadow Russian vessels around our shores. I also congratulate the many exceptional servicemen and…
RS
Rebecca Smith
We have long-standing, cross-party support in Plymouth and Devon for ensuring the future of the Royal Marines, including 42 Commando in my constituency. Given the amphibious assault capability gap that we have as a result of scrapping—or, should I say, retiring—Devonport ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, what commitmen…
JH
John Healey
HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion were not genuine capabilities. The Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry made that clear. Neither ship was set to put to sea again before their out-of-service date. This decision allows us to focus resources on where they need to be: on the capabilities that we need to support our Mar…
HU
Harpreet Uppal
A recent BBC documentary detailed the 60-year campaign of nuclear test veterans, who were fighting for the disclosure of medical records and damages relating to radiation exposure. There has been a marked increase in rates of cancer and genetic damage. I know the Minister is looking at the issue carefully. Will he plea…
Community Energy Projects17 Dec 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
It is so good to hear the Minister affirm the need to bring the public onside, as well as private sector investment, to achieve the transformation towards green power and net zero. The Liberal Democrats support Great British Energy if community energy is at the centre of the Great British Energy Bill. Our colleagues in… the Lords are debating amendments relating to direct participation in and benefit from community energy. Will the Minister agree to those proposals if they come to this House?
Hansard · 17 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
OG
Olly Glover
What steps he is taking to support community energy projects.
MS
Michael Shanks
Community energy will play a pivotal role in our mission for clean power. Last week, we published the clean power action plan, which contained more information about how we will meet this world-leading mission, and the report confirmed that community energy will play an important role, particularly through Great Britis…
OG
Olly Glover
Renewable energy schemes on community buildings in my Oxfordshire constituency of Didcot and Wantage, supported by the Low Carbon Hub in Oxford, have mostly benefited building owners up to now. Would the Minister support more flexibility in local energy systems and allow local energy trading to get more support for ren…
MS
Michael Shanks
The hon. Gentleman makes an incredibly important point about how local community groups can benefit from not just hosting the community energy, but from being able to sell locally. We have had a number of conversations on this topic already. I most recently met the community energy contact group, which does a lot of wo…
TP
Toby Perkins
Under the previous Government, we had an energy market that worked for nobody. It was bad for consumers, and we also saw many energy companies go out of business as the Government lost any grip on the industry. Does my hon. Friend agree that with the greater stability we have under this new Labour Government, there are…
Warm Homes Plan17 Dec 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
After the Conservative Government’s failure to tackle insulation, fuel poverty is on the rise. In my constituency, almost 20% of households with young family members—those between five and 10 years—are fuel poor, living in cold, damp houses and choosing between eating and heating. While we await the warm homes plan that will deal with upgrading… current housing stock, will the Minister meet the Minister for Housing and Planning to ensure that all future homes will come forward with an energy rating that is a minimum of C or higher, but not beyond 2025 for the future homes standard?
Hansard · 17 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
AH
Amanda Hack
What steps he is taking to introduce a warm homes plan.
DP
David Pinto-Duschinsky
What steps he is taking to introduce a warm homes plan.
MF
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We are getting on with delivering our warm homes plan. We are set to upgrade up to 300,000 homes next year. We are introducing new standards in the private rented sector and the social rented sector that will lift 1 million people out of fuel poverty, and we are making it easier for people to install heat pumps by remo…
AH
Amanda Hack
Modelling suggests that one in four residents in North West Leicestershire is in fuel poverty. Does the Minister understand the frustration many constituents will feel that, despite being in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, fuel poverty has become so commonplace? Will she write to me with an outline of the…
MF
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I share the frustration of my hon. Friend’s constituents. The scale of fuel poverty in this country is a shameful legacy of the last Government’s 14 years of failure. It is a legacy that we are determined to turn around through our warm homes plan and our winter support package, and we will do everything we can to make…
Clause 1 - Rate of secondary Class 1 contributions17 Dec 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
I beg to move amendment 1, page 1, line 2, at beginning insert— “(A1) In section 9(1A) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, before paragraph (a) insert— “(za) if the employer is a specified employer under subsection (1B), the specified employer secondary percentage;” (A2) After section 9(1A) of that Act insert— “(1B)… A “specified employer” means— (a) a person providing a care home service or a domiciliary support service who is regulated under— (i) Part 1 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, (ii) Part 1 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016, or (iii) Part 5 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010, (b) a person contracted to provide primary care under the provisions of— (i) Part 4 of the National Health Service Act 2006, (ii) Part 4 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006, or (iii) sections 17J to 17O of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, (c) a person contracted to provide general dental services under the provisions of Part 2 of the National Health Service (General Dental Services) Regulations 1992, (d) a person contracted to provide pharmacy services under the provisions of— (i) Part 7 of the National Health Service Act 2006, or (ii) Part 8 of the NHS (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013, or (e) a charitable provider of health and care, or (f) a person providing hospice care whether in a hospice or elsewhere. (1C) For the purposes of this Act, the specified employer secondary percentage is 13.8%.”” This amendment, together with Amendment 2 provides that care providers, NHS GP practices, NHS commissioned dentists, NHS commissioned pharmacists, charitable providers of health and care, and those providing hospice care would continue to pay contributions at current rates.
Hansard · 17 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
CN
Caroline Nokes
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Amendment 4, page 1, line 2, at beginning insert— “(A1) The Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 is amended as follows. (A2) In section 9(1A) after paragraph (aa) insert— “(ab) if section 9AA below applies to the earnings, the reduced secondary pe…
CD
Carla Denyer
I thank the hon. Member for allowing me to speak briefly. She references primary care. I have heard from five different GP surgeries in my constituency, who have written to me to warn that the national insurance increase will directly undermine patient care, when GP practices are already under severe financial strain d…
LE
Luke Evans
The hon. Member has hit the nail on the head. The Labour Government say that they want to deal with this situation, and that they effectively protected secondary care, but the NI applies to GPs at the front end and care homes at the back end. That means that it will be the hospitals who hold the responsibility—the acut…
DD
Dave Doogan
The hon. Lady is making a tremendously informed speech and demonstrating a level of understanding of primary care and the care sector that we could only dream of from the Government. Is it her concern that many charities, voluntary sector organisations and GP surgeries are already operating on the thinnest margins of f…
RS
Robin Swann
I thank the hon. Member for giving way; she has been generous with her time. Does she realise that this is not just a problem in England, Scotland and Wales? It is a significant problem in Northern Ireland, where we have already seen a high number of GP practices returning their contracts. At this time when the solutio…
PH
Pippa Heylings
These hikes in employer national insurance contributions are not just numbers on a spreadsheet, but will have real and damaging consequences and will strike at the heart of small and medium-sized businesses, which are the backbone of our economy. In my constituency in South Cambridgeshire, we have one of the highest de…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I agree. What the hon. Member says is critical, and I will come on to the situation with our GPs. The Lib Dems continue to highlight the point that to fix the NHS, we have to fix the social care crisis. Freeing up hospital beds requires us to fix the social care sector. According to research, 60% of the UK’s care home …
PH
Pippa Heylings
I agree with the hon. Member. I will give one example: the Arthur Rank hospice, which serves all of Cambridgeshire. I had a tour there and saw the work being done by its dedicated professionals. I was informed by its senior leadership that these hikes in national insurance contributions for employers will be the equiva…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I agree with the hon. Member. I know that the Government are in conversation with GPs, but GPs are writing to us saying that they are seriously concerned. The GP in Harston said: “GPs cannot raise prices or operate at a loss.” They have not had clarification or confirmation from the Government about how funding that is…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I agree with the hon. Member. In my constituency of South Cambridgeshire, we had the tragic situation of four much-loved, much-respected family doctors handing back their contracts. It happened at East Barnwell surgery, to the distress of those GPs and all their patients. That is because of the contract, and due to fai…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I thank the right hon. Member. As I mentioned, Arthur Rank hospice in my constituency is one such hospice that should definitely have that compromise. Not only that; we have to look at the whole primary care sector—both GPs and independent care homes—because that is what will winter-proof our NHS. We cannot fix the NHS…
SEND Provision: Autism and ADHD12 Dec 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
I am grateful for the opportunity to address this critical issue that affects so many families and carers, not just in my constituency but across the country. I rise to speak up for all those who feel they are not being heard and to speak about the crisis in the provision of special educational needs… and disability support, particularly for children and young people with autism spectrum disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This crisis is failing children and young people, their families and carers, the professionals who support them, and society as a whole. Before I proceed, I thank all the courageous parents and carers who have taken the time to tell me their stories. Some of them have come to Westminster today to be with us in the Gallery. I pay special tribute to the staff from schools in my constituency, including Bassingbourn, Melbourn and Hauxton primary schools, who have taken the time to attend this critically important debate and are with us in the Gallery. I was privileged to meet staff at Bassingbourn primary school, where I witnessed at first hand the inspiring work undertaken by dedicated and caring professionals, who are creating safe spaces, such as the hub. I saw for myself the calm and trusting relationships built with students, and heard about the difference that the hub makes for students. Rather than spiralling into disruptive behaviour or not even being able to make it through the door to registration some days, students are now seeking out the hub as a space to ready themselves for registration or to take time out before going back to class. The headteacher, staff and the SEND co-ordinators go above and beyond, often making miracles happen on very limited budgets. However, let me share the words of one dedicated professional from my constituency, so that the House can hear what the current crisis is leading to. She says: “On a daily basis I am setting up, delivering and helping other Teaching Assistants to deliver bespoke curri
Hansard · 12 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
MS
Mark Sewards
The account the hon. Lady is giving is incredibly powerful and I am really grateful that she has chosen to share it with the House. As somebody who was teaching maths at a secondary school until a few months before the general election, I can state that the situation she describes, while certainly not unusual, is not u…
SR
Sarah Russell
In respect of early diagnosis and onward support, in my constituency of Congleton we have two specific problems. First, although some children receive a diagnosis under the right to choose pathway on the NHS, others, often from more deprived backgrounds, face considerably longer waits than they would under that pathway…
SW
Sean Woodcock
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for bringing this important debate to the House. Following on from her comments about mainstream education, one of my first jobs after leaving university was as a teaching assistant. I also spent a year in a special needs school. Does she agree that the issues we are seeing are partly the…
AB
Alison Bennett
On that point about young carers, does my hon. Friend agree that, at the moment, schools struggle to recognise how many young carers are on their rolls? Does she think that the Department for Education would be wise to look at better ways of measuring the number of young carers and giving schools the toolkits to identi…
SR
Sarah Russell
I thank the hon. Member for allowing me to intervene again; I appreciate it. Cheshire has some of the lowest per-pupil funding in the country. There is a direct link between schools that receive relatively low levels of funding and councils that have relatively high levels of SEND diagnoses, because there is not the sa…
PH
Pippa Heylings
Absolutely; I am here to pay tribute, as is everybody, to what teachers are doing, both with regard to the failure of the previous Government and with the current situation. Let us get to what is happening with the current Government. Every child deserves access to education to get the best start in life and build a st…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I will come on to what I think is a postcode lottery. We see regional disparities in the care and provision given, so I thank the hon. Member for raising that point. For many, the wait to get assessments for education, health and care plans can be months, if not years. Lord Darzi’s investigation of the NHS in England n…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I could not concur more. Over the past decade or more, we saw chronic under-investment from the Conservative Government, despite the needs having been recognised in statute, and that has left us in this pressure point situation. We are now seeing the results of that. I have also been told that this is a time bomb, beca…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. The Carers Trust has provided us with these stories and pointed out that we really need to collect this evidence. It would be easy to point the finger at local councils and say that this is their failure, but, as we have said, they are stretched to their limits by a chronic l…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I agree with the hon. Member. My constituency of South Cambridgeshire also has among the lowest per-pupil funding, which exacerbates the fact that, even though we have EHCPs, most of them are not funded to the amount that is required for each of those students. That compounds the situation that our amazing schools are …
PH
Pippa Heylings
I thank my hon. Friend for raising one of the complex issues around this provision. While we support the current Government’s additional allocation of funding to this critical area, we really want them to look at the fact that it is not just about mainstream provision; it is also about specialist provision. As she says…
Economic Investment3 Dec 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
Last week, I joined a biotech boot camp in South Cambridgeshire. Although the investors and entrepreneurs recognise and welcome the research and development budget announced in the Budget, they said it is a reduction from 2021. Does the Chancellor recognise that we need to increase investment in R&D to encourage long-term investment in our leading… services?
Hansard · 3 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
DP
Darren Paffey
What steps she is taking to increase long-term investment in the economy.
AG
Alan Gemmell
What steps she is taking to increase long-term investment in the economy.
MS
Mark Sewards
What steps she is taking to increase long-term investment in the economy.
RR
Rachel Reeves
We have brought stability back to the economy, which is the foundation for attracting investment and is vital to our growth mission. We have already launched the national wealth fund, which will mobilise over £70 billion of private investment with an expanded remit for the Office for Investment overseen by the Minister…
DP
Darren Paffey
I have been meeting a number of maritime companies in and around the port of Southampton, and they tell me that the single biggest key to unlocking further investment would be the expansion of the national grid to our city. What steps is the Chancellor taking to secure that vital investment, and will she meet me and lo…
Georgia3 Dec 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
I have met young Georgians here in the UK who are watching with desperation, fear and depression as legislation on foreign influence restricts their rights, the media and organisations dealing with all sorts of development rights. They are also seeing their colleagues brutally repressed on the streets as they try to have freedom of association… and to keep what is enshrined in their constitution—movement towards EU accession—as it is being ripped away from them. What can the Minister say to those young people? Will she and the ambassador be open to meet them? They are in a terrible state of anxiety right now.
Hansard · 3 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
SG
Stephen Gethins
(Urgent question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the parliamentary elections in Georgia.
CW
Catherine West
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. Following the elections in Georgia on 26 October , the Minister for Europe, North America and the Overseas Territories, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty) , made clear our support for the findings of the OSCE office for democratic insti…
SG
Stephen Gethins
First, thank you for granting this urgent question, Mr Speaker. As you will be aware, people across the Chamber have friends in Georgia, who will be reassured that we have taken the time to discuss this matter. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a trustee of the John Smith …
CW
Catherine West
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his commitment to and intimate knowledge of Georgia. I underline the importance of his points on the freedom of the press—we need to know what is happening—and the freedom to protest. Emotions were running high following the election campaign, but police brutality is never acceptable. It …
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill3 Dec 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
Will the hon. Member reassure the GPs in my constituency, in Harston, Comberton, the Eversdens, Melbourn and Queen Edith’s, who have sought reassurances that the Government do not intend to threaten the viability of thousands of NHS general practices through these charges?
Hansard · 3 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
JC
Judith Cummins
The reasoned amendment in the name of Mel Stride has been selected.
JM
James Murray
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. In her Budget statement on 30 October , the Chancellor set out the difficult decisions that we as a Government have been prepared to make on welfare, spending and tax. Those decisions were not just difficult but necessary, given the fiscal irresponsibility and eco…
DD
Dave Doogan
Is the Minister seriously suggesting that, with the best brains in the Treasury on hand, he does not understand that it is a moot point whether someone has a higher national insurance contribution in their payslip, or whether their wages are suppressed and the job that they were going for is not there anymore, because …
JM
James Murray
We recognise that we are asking businesses to contribute more, and that this will have impacts, but it will be up to individual businesses to decide how to respond to these changes. The one thing that we know for certain is that if we had chosen a different path—if we had followed the previous Government and increased …
IH
Imran Hussain
I apologise for intervening so early in the debate, but a number of my small businesses, charities and voluntary sector organisations have raised concerns and asked for clarity. Can the Minister outline what safety nets and other measures for support are available to small businesses, charities and voluntary sector org…
Warm Homes Plan12 Nov 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
Homes in the UK are among the least energy-efficient in Europe, with unparalleled health, productivity and carbon emission costs to society, as a result of the last Government’s failure to act. I agree with the Minister: it is a disgrace that this is happening in one of the largest economies in the G7. We welcome… the news of the warm homes plan coming next year, but does the Minister agree that an emergency home insulation programme this winter, with free insulation for people on low incomes, is necessary so that people in South Cambridgeshire do not have to face the choice between heating and eating?
Hansard · 12 Nov 2024 · parliament.uk
PS
Peter Swallow
What steps he is taking to introduce a warm homes plan.
SA
Sadik Al-Hassan
What steps he is taking to introduce a warm homes plan.
AD
Anna Dixon
What steps he is taking to introduce a warm homes plan.
MF
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We are committed to an ambitious warm homes plan, which will upgrade homes across the country, making them warmer and cheaper to run, by installing new insulation and rolling out low carbon heating such as solar and heat pumps. As a first step, the Government have committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next three y…
PS
Peter Swallow
Too many of my constituents are living in poorly insulated social housing. New mother Dionne, for instance, had the insulation from her flat removed last year by her social landlord because it was full of mould and mildew. She is now facing her second winter without insulation. Will the Minister confirm that the warm h…
Topical Questions12 Nov 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
The US President-elect, Donald Trump, has repeatedly called climate change “a hoax”. I share the concerns of young people in South Cambridgeshire that these views represent a threat to our efforts to tackle climate change. The global community is meeting right now at the international climate summit in Azerbaijan—COP29. Does the Minister believe and share… with me the view that the UK must rebuild its leadership by getting back on track with our climate and nature targets?
Hansard · 12 Nov 2024 · parliament.uk
CJ
Christine Jardine
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
SJ
Sarah Jones
The Budget was a major step forward, paving the way for investment in clean, home-grown power, creating jobs and delivering energy security. Last week, the National Energy System Operator provided definitive evidence that our clean power mission is achievable and can give us greater energy security and lower energy cos…
CJ
Christine Jardine
The price cap rise, winter fuel payment cuts, higher standing charges and lower temperatures are all things that my constituents in Edinburgh West—particularly my pensioners—are coming to me with concerns about. What is the Secretary of State planning to do to work with Ofgem and the energy companies to come up with a …
SJ
Sarah Jones
We are looking to bring down standing charges. The hon. Lady has mentioned a lot of cases where people are struggling; we appreciate that, and we are doing what we can. The Budget set out how we are going to protect the most vulnerable people and ensure that people are supported in the way they need to be. We have a lo…
DA
Dan Aldridge
Following on from the exciting announcement of the £1 billion investment in wind power, it would be remiss of me not to mention the Severn estuary to the west of Weston-super-Mare, with its transformative potential for the generation of clean, renewable energy. The potential of domestic energy has been neglected for fa…
Rural Affairs11 Nov 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
Does the hon. Gentleman agree with me and David Walston from Thriplow in South Cambridgeshire that the impact of house prices and infrastructure means there is a complete disconnect between land value and income, which is affecting—
Hansard · 11 Nov 2024 · parliament.uk
SR
Steve Reed
I beg to move, That this House has considered rural affairs. I am delighted that the House has this opportunity to discuss the impact of the Budget on rural communities. Let me begin by addressing what the Budget means for farming in the round. We can all agree that food security is national security, which is why we h…
DS
Desmond Swayne
What estimate has the right hon. Gentleman made of the impact on capital investment, which will be reduced as farmers consider the inheritance tax implications of those investments and adjust their plans accordingly?
SR
Steve Reed
The changes have been signed off by the Office for Budget Responsibility and the full impact assessment will be available when the Finance Bill is published, before they come into force in 2026.
AM
Andrew Murrison
Does the Secretary of State understand that a farmer coming towards the end of his career is hardly likely to invest either in improving his land or in the hundreds of thousands of pounds that a piece of agricultural plant costs these days, knowing that there will be a surcharge when, sadly, he deceases?
SR
Steve Reed
The vast majority of farmers will be unaffected by the changes, so that point will not apply. We are also rapidly releasing £60 million to support farmers whose farms have been devastated by severe flooding. That is £10 million more than the previous Government were offering and, unlike their fantasy figures, we have s…
Income Tax (Charge)30 Oct 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
It is so inspiring for women and girls across the country to have heard the first female Chancellor deliver her Budget today. As Liberal Democrats, we will always welcome those parts of the Budget that aim to take the NHS off life support after so many years of under-investment by the last Conservative Government. It… is good to hear those commitments today. If we are to fix the NHS and bring down the disastrous treatment and appointment backlogs that are causing incredible suffering to constituents across the country, we need not only to repair hospitals with crumbling roofs but to build new ones, and urgently, because progress has been far too slow. We all knew that the new hospitals programme was ambitious but, sadly, the Conservatives failed. Originally, 40 new hospitals were promised by 2030, but not one of them has yet opened. In a cruel irony, we find ourselves with a backlog of hospitals waiting to be built, with no assurances in this Budget on how many will be funded. In my constituency, the cutting-edge Cambridge cancer hospital, with its great ambition to change the story of cancer forever, will offer lifesaving treatment to patients across the east of England, including, I hope, my husband. What really sets it apart is that in the same building, alongside the patients and their medical teams, academic and industry researchers will focus on delivering groundbreaking early detection and innovations that will transform the lives of millions of cancer patients, not just in Cambridgeshire and the east of England but worldwide. However, this new hospital is trapped in uncertainty. Despite having had a full business case approved, planning permission granted and spades in the ground, this essential hospital is on hold. Every day that we wait for the final green light, the costs escalate—not only the cost of the building but, potentially, at the cost of human lives, too. The Government have placed these hospitals that were promised in 2019 under review, because d
Hansard · 30 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
NG
Nusrat Ghani
I call the Leader of the Opposition.
RS
Rishi Sunak
On the day that the Prime Minister took office, he said that he wanted to restore trust to British politics with action, not words. Today, his actions speak for themselves, with a Budget that contains broken promise after broken promise and reveals the simple truth that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have not be…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Order. Just as we respected the Chancellor and heard her speak, we will hear the Leader of the Opposition.
RS
Rishi Sunak
Britain’s poorest pensioners squeezed, welfare spending out of control and a spree of tax rises that the Government promised the working people of this country they would not do. National insurance—up. Capital gains tax—up. Inheritance tax—up. Energy taxes —up. Business rates—up. First time buyer’s stamp duty—up. Pensi…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Order. The public will also want to hear what the Leader of the Opposition has to say. Those who I see shouting will not be called to speak later on. Simmer.
New Clause 1 - Review of effective delivery29 Oct 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
I start by thanking the Minister for how constructively he has worked with me, and by thanking the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton) for his words just now. I also thank all the colleagues who have sat on the Great British Energy Bill Committee. It is encouraging that this legislation has… been given a prime spot at the beginning of this Parliament, and I thank the Clerks and the Speaker’s Office for their diligent work in administering the Bill thus far, as well as all the Members who have taken the opportunity to represent their constituents’ aspirations and concerns regarding the Bill. As many Members know, this is my first Bill as spokesperson for energy security and net zero, and I have appreciated all the support I have been given. I also acknowledge colleagues from across the House who have lent their support to the amendments to which I am going to speak, and have also tabled their own. In particular, I recognise the contribution made by the hon. Member for Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay) , whose amendment promotes a nature recovery duty. He will know that nature recovery is close to my heart, and that I raised that topic in Committee. Last week, I had the privilege of attending the UN conference on biodiversity in Cali, Colombia—a poignant reminder of how it is impossible to address climate change and energy security without tackling the nature emergency. National energy infrastructure must therefore be nature-positive and aligned with the obligations in the Environment Act 2021. As the Minister knows, the Liberal Democrats support the Bill in principle, because we want a nationwide energy system that will bring down energy bills and provide clean, green energy. Amendment 3, which stands in my name, would guarantee that Great British Energy is established within six months of the Bill becoming law. We all know that as a result of the Conservative Government’s delay and dither, we are not on track to meet our ambitious targets.
Hansard · 29 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
CC
Claire Coutinho
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
JC
Judith Cummins
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 2—Nature Recovery Duty— “(1) In exercising its functions, Great British Energy must take all reasonable steps to contribute to the achievement of targets set under sections 1–3 of the Environment Act 2021. (2) Under the duty set under subsection (1), …
CC
Claire Coutinho
It is nice to be back discussing Great British Energy, and on the day before the Budget, too. I am sure that Labour Members are worrying about what kind of horrors they will be forced to defend next. They will have had a miserable summer trying to explain to their constituents why they are scrapping the winter fuel pay…
LM
Luke Murphy
I am enjoying the right hon. Member’s lecture on energy security, but where was that argument during the last Government, when they left our country reliant on Putin and volatile fossil fuels, and when we saw energy bills soar? This Government are cleaning up 14 years of mess that the right hon. Member’s Government lef…
CC
Claire Coutinho
I suggest the hon. Gentleman does some homework. We do not get our oil and gas from Putin. Instead, some 50% of our domestic gas supply comes from the North sea, which the party in government is trying to shut down. If he wants to talk about energy markets, he should do some reading about how they work. On that note, I…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I agree very much with my hon. Friend. National grid capacity is critical if we are to unblock all of these projects, which are so critical to powering our community services, our public services and the national economy. That is why we need to ensure there is no delay, and that is what amendment 3 speaks to. Amendment…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I thank my hon. Friend for that fantastic example from her constituency, which is exactly the kind of project we are talking about. We know that “Local power generation is an essential part of the energy mix, ensuring communities own and benefit from clean power projects, and reducing pressures on the transmission grid…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I appreciate that, which is why I quoted from the founding statement. The problem is that those words are not enshrined in the Bill itself, which is why we are surprised that the Government continue to vote down amendments that would put communities at the heart of the Bill. We will continue to push on that. I thank th…
PH
Pippa Heylings
In fact, I said at the beginning of my contribution that I welcomed the constructive debate in Committee.
PH
Pippa Heylings
I could not have put it better myself. I thank my hon. Friend for leading the fight for the Liberal Democrats as the former spokesperson on energy security and net zero. That question goes to the crux of the matter. We have fantastic examples from many communities of how important community energy is. My hon. Friend th…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I think I will intervene, if that is okay with you, Madam Deputy Speaker. We welcome that question from the hon. Member for East Thanet (Ms Billington) . In fact, there are multiple ownership models, so it is quite right to get clarification. Some of these will need investments from other companies, but others will—
Warm Homes Plan8 Oct 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
Keeping vulnerable people warm and lowering their energy bills is, I am sure, something we can all agree on across the House. Insulating homes is a key part of that puzzle. We welcome the news that we will see the warm homes plan in spring. However, does the Minister agree that ahead of this winter… we need an emergency home insulation plan, particularly for the vulnerable, along with allocated funding? Does she have any idea of the amount and allocation of funding in this Parliament that there will be for insulating homes?
Hansard · 8 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
JM
Joe Morris
What steps he is taking to introduce his warm homes plan.
LK
Laura Kyrke-Smith
What steps he is taking to introduce his warm homes plan.
RH
Rupa Huq
What steps he is taking to introduce his warm homes plan.
MF
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We are running to deliver our warm homes plan, which will upgrade homes across the country to make them warmer and cheaper to run. We will set out the full plan in the spring, but at the heart of it will be an offer of grants and low-interest loans to support families to invest in insulation, low-carbon heating and hom…
JM
Joe Morris
I thank the Minister for her answer and for her commitment to the warm homes plan. I congratulate her on the announcement over the conference recess to end the scandal of cold, draughty homes in the rental sector, which particularly affects people in my constituency in towns such as Haltwhistle, Throckley, Newburn, Hex…
Grid Capacity8 Oct 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
As we have heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Wells and Mendip Hills (Tessa Munt) , the lack of national grid capacity is holding back the UK’s push towards renewable energy. There are numerous examples of projects that have been delayed because they are waiting to be connected to the national grid, or… because connection is too expensive. In my constituency, we cannot even connect the solar panels and batteries for the ambitious plan to decarbonise and electrify the refuse fleet for South Cambridgeshire district council. The projects that have been delayed include the building of new homes, which is crucial at present. Can the Minister explain to us how we are to reach this stage on the scale and at the pace that is needed?
Hansard · 8 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
TM
Tessa Munt
What steps he is taking to increase grid capacity
MS
Michael Shanks
We are halving the development time for new transmission infrastructure through reforms of planning, supply chains and other areas, delivering the grid capacity that is needed to achieve clean power by 2030 and meet a doubling of electricity demand by 2050.
TM
Tessa Munt
Communities are doing their very best, and lots of people are trying to help each community to power itself. My own village has its community solar project, which was fully funded by local residents. There are non-profit organisations which have dealt with local schemes by putting solar panels on schools with an elemen…
MS
Michael Shanks
The hon. Lady is right to draw attention to the importance of community energy projects throughout the country. We want to see many more of them, but we have inherited a grid that needs significant upgrading, and we are now working apace to ensure that that happens. Part of the work that I have been doing with National…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage7 Oct 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. The Liberal Democrats are committed to supporting British industries in cutting carbon emissions and getting the country back on track towards meeting our climate targets. It cannot be emphasised enough how significant it is that this announcement comes at the same time as we hear about… the UK being the first industrial nation to close its last coal-fired power plant. We had been dependent on coal for 150 years, so that is absolutely key. It is clear that the future lies with renewables and clean energy, where we need to bring urgency and the necessary scale of investment. The Conservative Government’s irresponsible roll-back from key climate pledges, and their failure to invest properly in renewable energy and home insulation, has left thousands of households vulnerable to fuel poverty as another winter approaches. The failure to move forward at pace in decarbonising our industries, our transport and our homes has left us needing to take difficult decisions. We support the need, recognised by the Climate Change Committee, for at-scale, long-term investment in CCS, particularly for hard-to-decarbonise industries such as chemicals, cement and steel manufacturing. We would like to see investment in existing industries, and we want it to meet environmental requirements. While we are discussing history, I should mention that it was my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey) who launched carbon capture and storage, which was yet again cancelled by the Conservatives. However, although carbon capture and storage is a key tool in reaching net zero, it is also very expensive and complex, and evidence of its efficacy is still scant. Understandably, as the Secretary of State mentioned, there is much concern about the focus on incentivising industries to invest in CCS as an alternative to radically reducing their emissions. Therefore, it is important that the Government set out clearly and transparently
Hansard · 7 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
CN
Caroline Nokes
Before we come to the next statement, may I reiterate the comments that Mr Speaker made earlier today? While the whole House understands that the business of government will go on during recess and that Ministers are required to respond to events, it is frustrating for hon. Members when statements are made during sched…
EM
Ed Miliband
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I heard your statement, and Mr Speaker’s earlier. With permission, I would like to make a statement on the Government’s carbon capture programme. Last week was a historic week for our energy system. On Monday, 142 years of coal-fired electricity generation came to an end, as Ratcliffe-o…
CN
Caroline Nokes
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
CC
Claire Coutinho
I thank the Secretary of State for giving me advance sight of his statement. While I welcome the news today, I am saddened, if not surprised, that he has not had the grace to acknowledge the work of the last Government in getting us to this place. I know that his opinion is not that of the many partners who have come t…
EM
Ed Miliband
I know that the right hon. Lady is in a difficult position, and it rather showed today. Let us be honest: the truth is quite painful for her. She failed, as Energy Secretary, to get carbon capture over the line, year after year—well, to be fair, she was only in the job for 10 months, but certainly month after month. Th…
Parliamentary Debate26 Jul 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and congratulations on your new role. I also congratulate the hon. Member for East Thanet (Ms Billington) , with whom I worked before we both came to this Chamber, through UK100 and elsewhere, on local climate action, which I will speak much about today. I also congratulate the Minister and… the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. It means a great deal to me to make my maiden speech during a debate in which the new Government are setting out green energy policies and plans to get us back on track with our climate pledges here at home, so that we can once again contribute on the international stage towards collective global action. Closer to home, Government research shows that local climate action would achieve net zero for half the cost of the national approach and deliver three times the financial returns, but we need a clear framework between the national and the local and for how councils fit into the national plan for net zero, including community energy initiatives. Let me say how proud and humbled I am by the faith the residents of beautiful South Cambridgeshire have put in me. They wanted change, and this was a truly historic result. The Liberal Democrats won all three Cambridgeshire seats, turning them from blue to yellow for the first time, forming a golden ring around the constituency of the Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner) . I congratulate him on his appointment as the Minister for farming. We have a golden ring, or rather a golden doughnut with red jam in the middle, and it is thanks to family, friends and activists, many of them here today, that that happened. I am a lass from Hull, whose dad was a GP and mum a nurse. From an early age, I accompanied my dad on his home visits to patients, and it was those roots in the NHS that fostered in me a deep sense of community service, as well as an insight into the links between
Hansard · 26 Jul 2024 · parliament.uk
ZA
Zubir Ahmed
I congratulate you on your election, Madam Deputy Speaker. I congratulate hon. Members on discharging their responsibilities and delivering their maiden speeches, particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton) —I am sure he will correct my pronunciation and give me some honest feedba…
Making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower26 Jul 2024
PH
Pippa Heylings
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and congratulations on your new role. I also congratulate the hon. Member for East Thanet (Ms Billington) , with whom I worked before we both came to this Chamber, through UK100 and elsewhere, on local climate action, which I will speak much about today. I also congratulate the Minister and… the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. It means a great deal to me to make my maiden speech during a debate in which the new Government are setting out green energy policies and plans to get us back on track with our climate pledges here at home, so that we can once again contribute on the international stage towards collective global action. Closer to home, Government research shows that local climate action would achieve net zero for half the cost of the national approach and deliver three times the financial returns, but we need a clear framework between the national and the local and for how councils fit into the national plan for net zero, including community energy initiatives. Let me say how proud and humbled I am by the faith the residents of beautiful South Cambridgeshire have put in me. They wanted change, and this was a truly historic result. The Liberal Democrats won all three Cambridgeshire seats, turning them from blue to yellow for the first time, forming a golden ring around the constituency of the Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner) . I congratulate him on his appointment as the Minister for farming. We have a golden ring, or rather a golden doughnut with red jam in the middle, and it is thanks to family, friends and activists, many of them here today, that that happened. I am a lass from Hull, whose dad was a GP and mum a nurse. From an early age, I accompanied my dad on his home visits to patients, and it was those roots in the NHS that fostered in me a deep sense of community service, as well as an insight into the links between
Hansard · 26 Jul 2024 · parliament.uk
MS
Michael Shanks
I beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of making Britain a clean energy superpower. It is a genuine pleasure to see you in the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker, and a privilege to open this debate on the Government’s plan to make Britain a clean energy superpower. It is also a genuine privilege to have bee…
RH
Richard Holden
The hon. Gentleman mentions families and energy prices. During the general election campaign, the Labour party and Labour candidates across the country claimed that GB Energy will save the average British household £300 a year. However, the Secretary of State refused to repeat this claim when given the chance last week…
MS
Michael Shanks
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question, but it takes a bit of brass neck to come here and talk about bringing down bills when the Government he supported for so long saw those bills skyrocket. We have been very clear that bills will come down. We said it throughout the campaign, we said it yesterday and we s…
MS
Michael Shanks
I will make a bit of progress, if that is okay. We will create thousands of skilled jobs, which, crucially, will also tackle the climate crisis that we have not done enough to tackle in recent years. It is for these reasons that the Prime Minister has made making Britain a clean energy superpower one of his five missio…
DC
Deirdre Costigan
Many of my constituents in Ealing Southall are incredibly excited by the Minister’s plans for Great British Energy, for taking back control of our energy system and for lowering the bills of hard-pressed families, but does he agree that the Conservative party will have confused many of my residents with its support for…
