Speeches by Hobhouse.

“On Monday, there will be a concert in Bath abbey in support of Ukraine. My constituents have been unstinting in their support for Ukrainians living among us, but also for Ukrainian communities such as in Oleksandriia. Now is not the point at which to weaken our support. How will the Government ensure that Ukraine’s voi…”

“Would a single point of contact not be best placed in the council? Although councils get a lot of complaints, whenever we ask in surveys who residents trust most—is it an industry body, an independent body or the council?—a lot of people respond that it is the council. Yet the councils do not have the capacity currentl…”

“You are ultimately satisfied with the support and the scalability, and you think that for what you have been set up for, you are okay?”

“Do you think that your own roles should be extended, and what is the scalability of that?”

“Would a single point of contact not be best placed in the council? Although councils get a lot of complaints, whenever we ask in surveys who residents trust most—is it an industry body, an independent body or the council?—a lot of people respond that it is the council. Yet the councils do not have the capacity currentl…”

“We have been sitting here for two hours. Forgive me, but I feel myself to be in two separate panels here. We hear about the outrageous thing that has happened to Amanda and Zak, and they still do not have any redress. We are hearing from you that it is all quite under control, and you can deal with it, and you want to …”

“Do you think that your own roles should be extended, and what is the scalability of that?”

“We have been sitting here for two hours. Forgive me, but I feel myself to be in two separate panels here. We hear about the outrageous thing that has happened to Amanda and Zak, and they still do not have any redress. We are hearing from you that it is all quite under control, and you can deal with it, and you want to …”

“You are ultimately satisfied with the support and the scalability, and you think that for what you have been set up for, you are okay?”

“Is it not also true that although we need to upgrade an old grid, the challenge of the future is a decentralised energy system, and that that is so often misunderstood? We had big power stations; now we have decentralised and smaller energy providers. That is a big challenge that we all have to recognise rather than cr…”

“I thank the Backbench Business Committee again for granting this debate, which has been very lively and engaged, and good-natured, despite some disagreements—but where would we be, if we all agreed? We would not need to debate. I am grateful to everybody for their contributions and for the points that have been raised,…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the cost of energy. It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Western. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting me this debate. The cost of energy is a problem that impacts all areas of our lives, from the homes we live in to the businesses we work fo…”

“I, too, would like some clarification from the Opposition. Is the hon. Member saying that renewable energy is a solution to lower energy bills and gets us to net zero, but that we do not really want it because it is too expensive? I was not quite clear whether her argument was for or against renewable energy. Could she…”

“The hon. Member predicts my next point: it is important to emphasise the Government’s responsibility to look after the most vulnerable in our society and protect them during any efforts to rebalance gas and electricity prices. However, I cannot comment on the council tax bill to which he refers; that is, of course, a l…”

“I am pleased that this Government are moving away from the ideological fantasies of the Conservative Government and taking a pragmatic approach to EU-UK relations. Passive divergence—doing nothing when regulations move forward in the EU—is increasingly a concern for British businesses. It leads to huge trade barriers i…”

“Businesses in Bath are increasingly worried about shoplifting, but online fraud is also a huge worry, and it is surging. Nearly 70,000 cases were reported in 2023-24, with victims losing an average of £800. Can we have a debate in Government time to understand the extent of the problem, what the Government propose to d…”

“Then you need to intersect with Treasury, Cabinet Office and No. 10. How is the co-ordination happening?”

“You set the general guidance and policy, but you do not manage bids directly for planning and spending.”

“Within DESNZ itself, where does the authority lie between you and the directors general for energy, markets and supply, Jonathan Mills, and for net zero, Lee McDonough?”

“I understand that some developers are concerned that you have not really engaged with the industry on what they see as caps. You call them targets. Can you explain why you have done what you have done and why there is a concern from some developers that they have felt that the modelling of NESO is not being done very c…”