Contributions
456 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Levelling-up Fund Round 2: Bidding ProcessIt is a scandal. That is exactly what I am saying because that is exactly what we were told and the explanation the council was given. At a time when local authorities are feeling…07 Feb 2023HANSARD Levelling-up Fund Round 2: Bidding ProcessI am sorry to have offended the Minister personally, but I am very surprised to hear her say that she does not recognise that this is ideological, or that people in these deprived…07 Feb 2023HANSARD Levelling-up Fund Round 2: Bidding ProcessWith all that the right hon. Gentleman has just said, how does he explain the fact that Glasgow City Council officers were told that their bids were good and were scoring well,…07 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionIt should never have got this far. We should never have ended up in a situation in which we are now talking about compensating people for something that should never have been…06 Feb 2023HANSARDEngagementsQ2. This morning, just two hours ago, I launched the all-party parliamentary group on prepayment meters. I did so because most people on those meters are on very low incomes, yet…01 Feb 2023HANSARD Energy Bills: Self-disconnectionNext week I am launching the all-party parliamentary group on prepayment meters, and one of the first things we were looking at is so-called self-disconnection. Given that I wrote…25 Jan 2023HANSARDPre-payment Meter Energy Customers and Higher CostsThe usual laws of commerce and capitalism are that buy first, pay later costs more and that those who can pay in advance will get a discount. The direct opposite is true for…25 Jan 2023HANSARDPre-payment meter energy customers and forcible transferPeople on pre-payment meters live in precarious situations. They can only have gas and electricity if they have money to feed the meter, otherwise they must freeze in the dark,…18 Jan 2023HANSARDPre-payment meter energy customers and self-disconnectionThe Prime Minister earns a much higher than average salary, and is already one of the wealthiest men in the UK. He cannot and does not argue that he is too poor to pay his energy…17 Jan 2023HANSARDPrepayment Meters: Self-DisconnectionThat is exactly what the Good Law Project is working on; I think it was featured in that article. Tens of thousands of warrants are being rubber-stamped by magistrates in minutes.…15 Dec 2022HANSARDPrepayment Meters: Self-DisconnectionI beg to move, That this House recognises that prepayment meter customers, who pay for their usage in advance, are not afforded the same rights when in energy debt as customers…15 Dec 2022HANSARDPrepayment Meters: Self-DisconnectionI see that the Minister is nodding and I thank him for that. I hope he is able to come back next week before Parliament goes into recess, before we are plunged into even colder…15 Dec 2022HANSARDPrepayment Meters: Self-DisconnectionI absolutely agree on that. I should thank the hon. Lady, because I have a ten-minute rule Bill on this matter and she spoke up for it last week in allowing it to continue in this…15 Dec 2022HANSARDPrepayment Meters: Self-DisconnectionYes, I absolutely agree with the hon. Lady on that. The whole system is wrong and crazy. Let me go back to what I was saying about the people who are just disconnected for their…15 Dec 2022HANSARDPrepayment Meters: Self-DisconnectionI absolutely agree with that, and for another reason too: we have an issue in the health service with bed blocking. If people are unable to run the equipment at home, they will…15 Dec 2022HANSARDPrepayment Meters: Self-DisconnectionMy hon. Friend directed me to the story of the couple he mentioned. One of the most moving things to read was that, on top of needing to keep everything warm, all Mel wants to do…15 Dec 2022HANSARDPrepayment Meters: Self-DisconnectionI thank the hon. Member for his kind words. I should probably clarify that I was always brought up to believe that if someone thinks and acts positively, they will get positive…15 Dec 2022HANSARDPrepayment Meters: Self-DisconnectionMay I ask, for the purpose of clarification, whether Labour supports at least a moratorium on so-called self-disconnection, so that no one with a prepayment meter can be…15 Dec 2022HANSARDPrepayment Meters: Self-DisconnectionThe Minister seems to be arguing that if the energy companies have to take people to court, it will cost those people more than having their prepayment meters cut off. The point…15 Dec 2022HANSARDPrepayment Meters: Self-DisconnectionI thank everybody who participated in the debate and who signed the application. I also thank my team—it was my office manager, Margaret Young, who first brought this issue to my…15 Dec 2022