Speeches by Downie.

“This might be one for Louise, but anyone else can chip in. Do you think the Government are right that up-front costs of heat pumps will fall in the future as this expands? Have they got that right? If not, how do we make sure that the costs come down faster?”

“We heard in the last session—you just mentioned this again, Jo—about the necessity to target those fuel poor or in fuel poverty. Is there enough consumer knowledge and confidence about heat pump technology that would necessitate that upward drive, so people asking for it as well? Or is that something the Government nee…”

“What else would be needed?”

“Sam and Jo have alluded to the need for market certainty to grow businesses. Is the expanded boiler upgrade scheme funding sufficient to meet increases in demand while keeping costs manageable as well? Joanne, can we start with you?”

“Brenda, do you have anything to add?”

“So all those benefits could be put at risk by announcements from political parties suggesting that perhaps this will not continue?”

“Peter, what would your view be on that, and what impact would it have on people’s likelihood to access loans or other support if they felt that it was not going to be there? What effect would that have on their circumstances down the line when it comes to fuel poverty?”

“Dion, you mentioned the difficulty of older people being confident in taking loans. How important is political consensus to that, that there will be continuation, and what would the impact be of some parties this week suggesting that these grants or conditions could be cut in the future?”

“I thank the Secretary of State for his very clear and measured statement. May I ask him about two points? First, if we see rises in bills in forthcoming months, can we ensure that the blame is placed firmly where it should be—on the actions of the Iranian Government in attacking and threatening the strait of Hormuz? Se…”

“I am keen to understand how often you run tests of that. Is that externally monitored? I do understand the difficulty of giving away how you protect, but could you give as much detail as you can to provide reassurance?”

“I want to pick up on some issues about modernisation of NESO systems, but also particularly around cyber-security as well. IBM has found that energy is one of the most highly targeted sectors in the UK for cyber-attack. We had the European Union Institute for Security Studies note that some Chinese hackers have shown t…”

“A more general question to Fintan and Claire: Energy UK has suggested that a small investment in modernising NESO systems would deliver billions of pounds in efficiencies, although, to be honest, it was not able to provide details. However, when it comes to NESO systems, what modernisation can be conducted, and how muc…”

“Jonathan, Ofgem has said that targeted cyber-resilience requirements will be needed for the most significant operators. What determination have you made about who fits under the “most significant operator” category? Is it just the big six, or are you looking more widely?”

“On costs, Ofgem has said that calculations show the average cost of a cyber-attack to utilities is about £210,000, with cyber ranking among the top risks across utilities. Who meets those costs, or who would meet those costs in the instance of a cyber-attack?”

“We have seen similar cyber-attacks in the UK where the Government had to step in—I am sure you are aware of what I am referring to. At what point would you have conversations with utilities and with the Government to determine who meets a large cost? Would that be Ofgem’s role? I guess that is the question.”

“Very briefly, as someone who spent quite a large part of their life trying to get renewables projects consented in Scotland, one of the biggest barriers we had with the public was complaints around constraint costs and wind farms being paid to be turned off. It was a recurring theme everywhere we went, which was frustr…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for leading a debate on one of the most important security and defence issues that we face. I was in Estonia at the start of January, in my role as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Estonia. I met members of its military, as well as the British troops in Estonia, to talk about the imp…”

“That is where the savings should happen.”

“Who knew that Scottish weather would be helpful. Thank you.”

“I want to ask a couple of questions around balancing costs, which you touched on earlier. But, Jonathan, I just want briefly to go back to your initial statement around increasing intensity of market research. While we have been meeting, there has been a report that energy firms are pulling all their fixed deals off th…”