Families will be deeply concerned about the impacts they are facing as a result of the Iran conflict. This Government are determined to fight the people’s corner. As a result of actions in the Budget, the energy bill price cap will fall from next week and is guaranteed till the end of June. We have already provided £50 million of immediate support for vulnerable customers who use heating oil and will act to prevent unfair practices like price gouging. Above all, we will work to end this conflict, which is so essential and urgent for our national interest.
Given that around one in five households in Dudley are in fuel poverty and that electricity levies fall disproportionately on low-income families, I welcome the Chancellor’s decision to remove some social and environmental levies from electricity bills. That has helped to shield some of my constituents from the impact of the war in the middle east. Does my right hon. Friend agree that rebalancing these levies can both support households and accelerate cleaner heating?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right about that. It is an important reassurance for understandably worried families that, from 1 April, the energy price cap will fall by £117 thanks to this Government’s actions. That happened not automatically, but because the Chancellor made decisions in the Budget to raise taxes on the wealthiest, which was opposed by the Conservative party. That decision is making possible that relief for families, including those in her constituency.
Before Trump’s illegal war, we had Putin’s illegal war. Both have meant soaring energy bills for families and businesses in my constituency. Citizens Advice Eastleigh tells me that more than 2,000 households are in fuel poverty. Does the Secretary of State agree that, so long as the price of wholesale electricity is directly linked to volatile gas, we will be at mercy of despots and dictators, and that decoupling is essential if people in my constituency and across the UK are to have energy security?
The hon. Member is right about this country’s exposure to fossil fuels, and that is the legacy of the previous Government. I am incredibly proud to say that, as a result of our two record-breaking renewables auctions, we will power the equivalent of 23 million homes. She is also right to say that the decoupling of gas and electricity prices is an important issue, on which we are working intensively.
Twenty thousand households across North West Norfolk and 140,000 across the county are off the gas grid and paying much higher prices for heating oil. Ministers are creating an expectation that support will be there for those who need it. What action will the Government take if Norfolk county council is unable to meet the demand and provide support through the crisis and resilience fund to those who are struggling?
The hon. Gentleman asks an important question. The reason why we decided to put the money into the crisis and resilience fund three weeks after this crisis began was to get the money out the door quickly. During the previous crisis, that took 200 days. He asks an important question about local authorities’ provision of support and also what happens if they do not have the funds. That is something on which we are working intensively, and we are keeping closely in touch with local authorities. We want the help to go to those who need it and we want to work with local authorities to make sure that that happens.
The latest wind auction has signed us up to sky-high prices for the next 20 years, but Ministers are claiming that their internal analysis proves that this will bring down bills. Will the Secretary of State publish those calculations in full so that we can see exactly how prices will be lowered?
We published the levelised cost analysis, which showed that new renewables were much cheaper to build and operate. As gas prices are soaring across the world and hitting us here at home, the idea that the Conservative party still opposes our renewables auction, which gives us clean home-grown power on which we can rely, is absolutely nonsensical.
The Prime Minister stood on the steps of Downing Street and promised families that energy bills would fall by £300, yet, since the general election, bills have already gone up by £73 and are forecast to go up more. It is hardly surprising that my constituents do not believe a word that they hear from the Government. Will the Minister explain to me when families in my constituency will actually see that £300 saving delivered?
Families in the right hon. Lady’s constituency will see savings on their bills from next week thanks to the actions of this Government. She is wrong on her facts, because, if we look across 2025, we will see that bills were lower in real terms than in 2024. We remain absolutely committed to our manifesto commitment to cut bills by up to £300 by 2030.
The Secretary of State promised that Great British Energy would lead to a “mind-blowing” reduction in bills. Can he confirm how much the average family has saved as a result specifically of Great British Energy?
Public services across the country, including schools and hospitals—I hope this will come to the hon. Member’s constituency—are seeing reductions in their bills, and money is being transferred to the frontline. We on the Government Benches support those proposals. We support lower bills. As I said to the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton), he can look forward to his constituents having lower bills as a result of this Government’s actions.