Speeches by McCluskey.

“That comes from a member of a party that learned no lessons from the last energy crisis. We will not make the same mistakes, which is why we are investing in clean power by 2030, which will drive down bills. Only today, we have seen the jobs benefit from the investment in clean energy, supporting 1.1 million jobs, 22,0…”

“That was part of the Energy Prices Act, as passed into primary legislation in 2022. It was intended to ensure that the powers were functioning at the time when the Executive were formed. I will go into more detail later. As I was saying, the EPA powers available to the Northern Ireland Department include a spending pow…”

“I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the work he is doing on this issue in his constituency, and I would be happy to meet him to discuss it further. I have seen for myself the benefits that green doctors—energy doctors—bring to constituencies across the country when I have visited those programmes. That kind of local su…”

“I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for all the work he does to advocate for his constituents in Na h-Eileanan an Iar; I was pleased to visit him recently to see the impact that the increases in heating oil are having on his constituents. We are looking closely at the non-domestic heating oil market, and we will come forwa…”

“We recognise that the latest price cap that has been announced will be deeply concerning for households, many of whom were already struggling before the Iran crisis hit. That is why the Government have already taken action. We have taken £150 of costs off energy bills, extended the warm home discount to nearly 6 millio…”

“Let me first turn to the point that has been raised by the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim and the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine. As I understand it—we were obviously not in government in this period; the party of the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine was—during the passage …”

“The hon. Gentleman will know that I take a keen interest in Northern Irish politics. I spent this morning in a Delegated Legislation Committee, delivering a reduction in bills through the removal of the renewables obligation. I am more than happy to discuss further with him how the regulation of heat networks might ope…”

“We can see the economic recklessness of the Conservative party when the hon. Member stands at that Dispatch Box making uncosted promises and claims. Before this crisis, bills were going down—they were going in the right direction—and no one would have anticipated the consequences of the war in Iran. Let us look at the …”

“I would be more than happy to meet to discuss that. The warm homes plan—our £15 billion investment in home energy upgrades, which is the biggest in British history—will go a long way to achieving some of the ends that my hon. Friend describes. I point him towards the work that we are doing jointly with the Green Financ…”

“My hon. Friend will know that we are taking action, which the Secretary of State announced, to further delink the cost of electricity from gas. As Ofgem said last week in relation to the price cap, we are already seeing the effects of that. Because of the additional renewable generation in the system, we are seeing the…”

“The hon. Gentleman’s constituents in Leicester will benefit from the decisions that we have already made. Those decisions take £150 off energy costs and extend the warm home discount and the warm homes plan, providing £15 billion of support. We are delinking and we are already taking action, as the Secretary of State a…”

“The hon. Member makes an important point. The Government do not want anyone to be making the choice between heating and eating. That is why across Government we are working on a data sprint to work out how we can use household income date to ensure that we are targeting support at the right people.”

“Oversight will be done in the ordinary way that all oversight of spending is done. As I said, however, the final business case will be approved by the Treasury before that funding is released to the Northern Ireland Executive. Oversight will proceed as it normally would in such circumstances. To conclude, these regulat…”

“As I said in my opening speech, these provisions allow the Northern Ireland Executive now to take forward their own scheme and for that money to be released, pending the agreement of the final business case with the Treasury. As I also said in my opening speech, I have discussed this with the Northern Ireland Minister …”

“We are considering a range of remediation options in a number of schemes for which the Department is responsible, most of which were operated by the previous Government. We will come forward with proposals soon.”

“My hon. Friend is a big champion of not just Bristol, but climate action more generally. Bristol is one of the trailblazing heat network cities, and its City Leap partnership is a model of what other local authorities can consider. I am pleased that we have announced nearly £35 million in this Parliament for the furthe…”

“I was very pleased to meet my hon. Friend’s constituents in Edinburgh to discuss the issues that they face with their heat network. The poor experience that they have had is an example of why we have introduced this regulation, and I commend her for the campaign that she has been running on their behalf. She is right t…”

“For too long, heat networks have been left unregulated, with consumers paying the price. That is why I am pleased that we have now established Ofgem as the heat network sector regulator, delivering statutory redress, advice and advocacy to protect households. We aim to develop the regulatory framework further, and rece…”

“I welcome the hon. Lady to her place, and I look forward to working closely with her on this brief, as I have done with other colleagues from her party. She will know that we have said we are looking at all contingencies in relation to the support that we may need to offer in the winter, but that has to be paid for. We…”

“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Energy Prices Act 2022 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. The draft regulations were laid before the House on 16 March. This Government are fully committed to fighting people’s corner to…”