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12,832 spoken contributions under 12 words (interjections such as “Will the hon. Member give way?”) are hidden. Show them

1. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

   Pensions Triple Lock

   Let me begin with a cross-party point of agreement: when the hon. Member draws attention to the Liberal legacy in establishing a state pension system, he is right. He is also right that the break with earnings for many years hurt pensioner incomes. That damage has been put right through many years of state pension rises. When we get to April 2030—when the new system kicks in—those gains will be locked in under this adjusted triple lock for future years. I began my response by reaching out to the hon. Member. I am afraid that I must also point out that the Liberal Democrats did support faster than expected rises in the state pension age during their time in power. He asked about pensioner poverty, which is set to fall under our plans, the details of which were published on 29 September. He also asked about the pace and scale of rolling out the national care service. That is a matter for Baroness Louise Casey to report on, and she will issue her final report next summer.

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2. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

   Pensions Triple Lock

   My hon. Friend is quite right that we deserve clarity. If the Conservatives are going to set their face against the changes we have announced when so many of their Front Benchers past and present have supported change, why should they be believed for one instant on all the welfare savings they talk about elsewhere? If they cannot be believed on those things, I will tell the House what that leaves them with: a bunch of unfunded tax pledges. We are keeping score. They have not identified the funds to pay for them, and they are racking up promises, which they have not said how they will pay for.

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3. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

   Pensions Triple Lock

   As I said to the hon. Member for Torbay (Steve Darling), the pace and scale of the rolling out of the national care service will be set out next year by Baroness Louise Casey. I remind the right hon. Member that I pointed out in my statement that the changes we have announced today will actually result in savings of £50 billion a year by 2050.

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4. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

   Pensions Triple Lock

   Let me say to the pensioners in Feltham and Heston, and in every other constituency, that the state pension will continue to rise every year. It will rise by prices or by 2.5%, and the gains that it will show in relation to average earnings will be locked in from April 2030 onwards.

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5. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

   Pensions Triple Lock

   It is important to appreciate that in the UK we have a dual system of a state pension and additional second pensions. We have a very healthy second pension system—trillions of pounds of investment—and it is important to look at pensioner incomes taking both those things into account. By that measure, we have a healthy pension system. Under the plans that we have announced today, the state pension will continue to rise each and every year.

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6. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

   Pensions Triple Lock

   My hon. Friend is right. She knows that many MPs on the Conservative Benches agree with our position. However, their Front-Bench colleagues have chosen to adopt a different position, which is to talk about reducing the Department’s budget and then, when we make a decision to make it sustainable for the future, to run for the hills. That is what they have done today—everyone will have seen it—and it undermines everything else they say about savings in the DWP budget.

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7. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

   Pensions Triple Lock

   Let me say first that Scottish pensioners will see a rising state pension every year. The IFS has said that the First Minister was wrong to claim that was not the case. I turn to the hon. Member’s complacency. It is hugely complacent to suggest that somehow the social care system in Scotland is not in need of improvement. Let me remind him that almost 10,000 Scots are waiting for social care assessments or packages. It is Scotland’s place in the UK that means that the Scottish Government secured a record financial settlement—what have they done with the money? It is Scotland’s place in the UK that means there will be extra funding for social care in Scotland as a result of the changes we have announced.

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8. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

   Pensions Triple Lock

   My hon. Friend is quite right to remind the House that it was Labour in Scotland who introduced free personal care. I notice that she did not make the claim that somehow the Scottish system is perfect and not in need of improvement; it certainly can be improved. Barnett consequentials—in plain English, a suitable share of the extra money spent in England—will be there to be spent on social care. The Scottish Government could decide to do something different, but that money will certainly be there to be spent on social care. Perhaps it needs to be when almost 10,000 Scots are waiting for social care assessments or care packages.

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9. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

   Pensions Triple Lock

   It is right that we do not wait until April 2030 before trying to improve the system. Extra money is going into the social care system as a result of decisions made by this Government. We also need to do more to support the social care workforce through the fair pay agreement that this Government have promised. We will certainly not wait until April 2030 before improving the system. This announcement gives a long-term plan, which makes it different from many of the previous reviews and reports that have been issued. It identifies a sustainable and growing source of funding to pay for the national care service that the Prime Minister set out in his conference speech.

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10. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    Since we came into office, we have changed the system of non-doms and the taxation regime for the wealthiest in society. More broadly, tax is a matter for the Chancellor and he has to weigh all these things up. The way that we are doing this is fair. It is a new settlement for pensioners that ensures a rising basic state pension, but also tackles the long-running issue of social care. It is a new settlement not just for pensioners but for their families, who often are worried about what will happen to their elderly relatives as they approach their final years.

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11. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    Many pensioners pay tax at the moment. For those who are purely reliant on the basic state pension for their income, the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear that they will not have to pay income tax for the duration of this Parliament. The Chancellor will announce further details at the Budget.

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12. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the immense contribution made by carers at home. The package that we have announced is good news for carers, as I said. This is a new settlement not just for pensioners but for the many younger relatives who look after older relatives and who can look forward to a new national care service being developed in the coming years.

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13. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    I refer to our introduction of pension credit, which has done significant amounts to reduce pensioner poverty. Claims have increased by more than 30,000 in recent times. Under the plans that I have set out, pensioner poverty is set to fall. In addition, we have asked the Pensions Commission to look at what further measures may be needed to ensure that we bear down on pensioner poverty in future, because security in retirement is vital for older people.

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14. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for campaigning on this issue. We published a document on 29 September showing that pensioner poverty was set to fall under the plans. We are not complacent about that. That is why we have asked the Pensions Commission to look at what further measures may be needed to reduce pensioner poverty in future years.

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15. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    Let me thank my hon. Friend for his comments. He is right to point out the deficiencies and worse that exist in the current care system, and an under-discussed part of it all is the pressure it puts on the NHS. As I said in my statement, if we turn away from this and do not tackle the kind of things my hon. Friend spoke about, we will have more A&E admissions, more ambulance callouts, and more elderly people kept in hospital when they would be better off in a social care setting.

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16. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    My hon. Friend is absolutely right to stress the importance of the social care workforce. That is why we are not waiting until April 2030 to make improvements for the social care workforce. She is also right to say that as a result of the changes that I have spoken about in my statement, extra funding will be available to the Scottish Government, in addition to the record financial settlement they have already received since the general election. Were we in a different environment, we could have a constructive discussion with the Scottish Government about how to build the best social care system throughout the UK. Instead, we have the usual claims of perfection, which my hon. Friend knows are not the experience of her constituents.

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17. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    My hon. Friend is right to point out that the state pension will continue to rise in each and every year. He is also right to point out that the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Helen Whately), having confirmed that the Conservatives oppose these changes, is now left with the question of where they would find the money to continue paying the triple lock, should they ever come into power after the next election, and where they would find the money to fund social care improvements. Her failure to respond to those questions completely undermines their waving around more and more savings to fund their growing list of unfunded tax promises. We have seen that movie before, and we know how it ends because the British people are still paying the price.

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18. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The state pension will continue to rise for Scottish pensioners in each and every year. Furthermore, extra funds will be allocated to the Scottish Government as a result of the social care changes that are part of this package. He is also right to point out that the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that the First Minister was wrong to claim what he claimed over the state pension. There is another thing on top of that, which is the enormous complacency in suggesting that the Scottish care system cannot be improved. It can be improved. There are almost 10,000 Scots waiting for social care assessments, and my hon. Friend knows that that is true for his constituents and the many other constituents who are represented here today.

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19. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    On the relationship to average earnings, in future years the gains from almost 20 years of the triple lock by the time we get to April 2030 will be locked in. The difference will be that, instead of outpacing average earnings as the current system does, the state pension will be linked to the level of average earnings that it reaches in April 2030. On my hon. Friend’s second point, this is a new settlement which guarantees a rising state pension every year but, over time, also releases funds for one of the biggest issues facing the country. I think the Prime Minister deserves credit for facing up to this issue. His criticism of politics, which is merited, is that difficult long-term issues have too often been ducked, which has left them to fester unresolved. In putting forward this new settlement, he is ensuring not only security for pensioners’ incomes but a means of tackling this issue.

    Hansard source
20. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    My hon. Friend probably heard from a great many Tories who agree that change is needed. Perhaps he even heard from the Leader of the Opposition’s Parliamentary Private Secretaries, who have both called for change in the system, to add to the tally on the file beside my porridge. This is a new settlement for pensioners, as I have said. It still ensures a rising state pension every year, but it enables us also to face up to the long-term issue of social care.

    Hansard source
21. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the social care workforce. It has been undervalued over the years. The jobs that these people do are incredibly important to the people they look after, and we are not waiting until April 2030 before addressing some of those concerns and putting forward a better deal for the social care workforce.

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22. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the needs of rural pensioners. The changes that this Government have made will result in energy bills £150 lower than they otherwise would have been. We have also put forward special help to local authorities in areas where large amounts of people are reliant on home heating oil. We have said that we will remove VAT from electricity bills, and we will continue to do what we can to help households with the rises in energy bills, which are caused by external geopolitical events.

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23. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    I very much agree with my hon. Friend that wisdom comes with age. It is not a view I used to hold, but I am warming to it as the years go past—[Hon. Members: “Mr Ponzi scheme is here!”] I welcome to the Opposition Front Bench the shadow Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Tonbridge (Tom Tugendhat), who of course referred to the triple lock as a Ponzi system.

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24. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    I can certainly assure the pensioners of West Dunbartonshire that the state pension will continue to rise in each and every year. That is true for his constituents and true throughout Scotland. I can also assure his constituents that funds released from this package will flow to the Scottish Government to spend on social care, if they so wish, because we believe that the social care system throughout the UK is in need of improvement. Through this new settlement, that can happen.

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25. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    My hon. Friend is right to say that there have been many reports and reviews over the years. There are differences this time. The first is that, in making the changes and putting forward this new settlement, we have identified a source of funding that will grow over the years and will help to fund the social care system. The second is political will. The Prime Minister has put this issue front and centre of his ambitions as Prime Minister, and front and centre of his speech to party conference a couple of weeks ago. He is putting his shoulder behind getting it resolved once and for all.

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26. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Pat McFadden

    Pensions Triple Lock

    My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As I said, it would be a better future if the Scottish, Welsh and UK Governments could work together on this common challenge. That is the approach that should be taken forward, and that is the spirit in which the Prime Minister made the announcement in his speech at party conference. It is a new settlement, and we should be taking it forward together.

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27. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nick Thomas-Symonds

    Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

    I beg to move, That this House has considered UK-Welsh Government co-operation on tackling wildfires. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for the first time, Mr Turner. This debate follows what has been an incredibly difficult summer for many people in my constituency. The wildfire began on the evening of 19 July, and it reignited on 10 August when it jumped a firebreak and travelled into a forestry, which put houses at risk. On 11 August, the South Wales fire and rescue service declared a major incident due to significant pressure on resources. On 13 August, a military aid to the civil authorities request was submitted by the South Wales fire and rescue service, and I commend the Secretary of State for Wales for agreeing to that request very swiftly. From 18 August, the fire was contained with tactical burns, firebreaks and the use of a helicopter, but the ground continued to smoulder until there was significant rainfall at the end of August. Frankly, the impact has been devastating. Data from the Copernicus fire emissions watch analysed by Save the Children revealed that Torfaen had the fourth highest intensity of carbon emissions per square kilometre in the world in July 2026. The smoke travelled as far as Cardiff in one direction and Gloucestershire in the other. It affected between 220 and 270 hectares of common land. Pasture, vegetation and peat were burned, with some areas likely to be damaged for years to come. I spoke to farmers who had livestock losses, disrupted water supplies, fencing damage, grazing management issues and loss of earnings. Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water said that damage to apparently remote land can affect drinking water, wildlife and communities beyond the immediate fire area. Twenty-one locations have been identified as needing immediate drainage improvements, and that needs to be done before ground stability work can be completed. On 14 August, South Wales fire and rescue service said that selected appliances recorded 296 mobilisations and well over 10,000 cumulative incident hours, and officers recorded 99 mobilisations and over 500 incident hours. At its height, the South Wales fire and rescue service was responding to 14 concurrent wildfires. Between 11 August and 1 September, it publicly reported 961 grass fires, including 115 wildfires and 26 category 3 wildfires, which shows the pressure on the fire service.

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28. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nick Thomas-Symonds

    Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

    The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right about learning from best practice across the United Kingdom. I pay tribute to the firefighters of the South Wales fire and rescue service and the 22 other fire services around the country who came to Blaenavon’s aid in the summer. I also thank Torfaen county borough council, Natural Resources Wales, Gwent police and the 110 military personnel who helped to combat the wildfires. I also recognise those from the Blorenge Commoners Association, local farmers, businesses and constituents who rallied together over the summer to tackle this devastating event. I also thank the Wales Office Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff North (Anna McMorrin), for visiting Torfaen recently and listening to the concerns of local people. I say first and foremost, as I thank all those on the frontline, that we have to learn the lessons of this summer. I am afraid such fires will become more frequent, and putting in place a proper, structured response for next summer will be crucial. “Fire and Rescue National Framework for Wales 2026” identifies climate change as likely to increase the incidence and severity of weather-related events, and it highlights the possibility of wildfire risk shifting or extending.

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29. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nick Thomas-Symonds

    Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

    I am certainly keen to have very substantial results from both this debate and the summit. The right hon. Lady is absolutely right to highlight the importance of that support and its availability across the United Kingdom. In putting my speech together, I was assisted by local people. If I may, I will briefly quote some of them, because I think this is important. Anthony Watkins says: “Unlike in the North of England and Scotland, the Fire and Rescue Services in Wales have less experience of tackling wildfires in large areas of peatland. Coordinating training with experienced firefighters in England and Scotland would provide invaluable expertise to the Welsh Services”. Sara Warman argues for a new approach to land management. She asks the Welsh Government in particular to “work alongside land managers to develop a dedicated Welsh Wildfire Strategy, provide meaningful post-fire recovery support, review fuel-load management policies, strengthen emergency response capability, and formally recognise commoners and graziers as operational partners in both wildfire prevention and emergency response”. Indeed, co-operation—that word is in the motion—between the UK Government and the Welsh Government to equalise access to substantial recovery funding and resources is very important. At the moment, there are indeed disparities. To give an example, the permitted burning season in Wales is two weeks shorter than in England. Of course there will be distinctions, but the point, which has been made a couple of times now, about learning from best practice across the UK is absolutely crucial. In advance of today’s debate, I also spoke to the South Wales fire and rescue service, which said that “we need a sustainable approach to specialist capability and surge funding, together with stronger land-management and cross-government planning.” The case I want to make today is about restoration, renewal and resilience. That extra support is needed very badly by my local community. I thank, first of all, Torfaen county borough council, which has already provided £50,000. We now need others to step up as well, and I will give one example. The North York Moors national park authority was awarded up to £3.2 million to recover from the devastating peat fires of 2025, through the nature for climate peatland grant scheme. The equivalent scheme in Wales is a lot smaller at the moment. It can award only about £10,000 to £250,000, so I urge the Welsh Government, in the first instance, to provide specific additional funding for the situation in Torfaen. Ministers in Cardiff Bay should look at how the money for the North York Moors national park authority was calculated, and provide fair funding for the peat fires that we have suffered in Torfaen. I know that the UK Government are holding a wildfire summit to look at all the issues and, as the Minister would expect, I will be pressing the UK Government to provide appropriate support as well. When the Minister winds up the debate, I hope she can commit to co-ordinating on a regular basis with the Welsh Government, to MPs with affected constituencies being able to attend the summit, and to making sure that those on the frontline who have been affected have their voices heard.

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30. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nick Thomas-Symonds

    Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

    My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I could not agree with her more. On the voice of local people being heard, this is again Sara Warman from my constituency: “Wales needs a new approach. One that combines science with practical experience. One that recognises that every common is different. One that treats local land managers as partners, not obstacles. Unless these policies change, we risk creating greater fuel loads, more frequent wildfires, and escalating environmental and economic damage across the Welsh uplands.” We need to build that resilience, and action is needed to help prepare the common and other areas across Wales for the sad reality that this may happen again. That could be in the form of managing the land with wildfire prevention in mind; community training; the purchasing of wildfire-specific resources; aerial support to predict and prevent wildfires; or, frankly, up-to-date personal protective equipment for our firefighters, which is absolutely crucial.

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31. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nick Thomas-Symonds

    Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

    I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. Wildfire prevention requirements and broader environmental policy need to be aligned, but this is what the South Wales fire and rescue service said to me: “The scale, concurrency and duration of the response provide a strong evidence base for reviewing specialist wildfire assets, command capacity, logistics, communications, fire control and resilience and the mutual-aid arrangements.” We were very lucky to have help from fire services across the country, but we have to make it systematic. We need to have a plan in place for that. All those aspects need to be considered, and the views of people and the agencies involved should be central. In answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Cat Eccles), the time allotted at the summit for listening to local people is going to be hugely important. It is great that the Welsh wildfire summit is being held on 22 October, but the point has been put to me that, at the moment, we have only one representative from Blaenavon who can attend. They put a simple question to me: is it expected that two hours is a sufficient amount of time to solve the accumulation of failings for the people of Torfaen? I wonder whether, in putting together the programme for that day, the Welsh Government might be able to ensure that people’s voices are given sufficient time to be properly heard and considered. I want to give the Minister plenty of time to respond, but today has to be the start of a wider conversation that has to happen pretty urgently. The lessons that we need to learn from this summer have to be learned so that our plan is in place before next summer. I am sad to say that, given climate change, we are likely to see more of these wildfires, as we have seen in continental Europe and other areas. We need to look first at prevention, as we want to do all we can to stop these things happening in the first place. We then need to look at management. While people in my constituency did a remarkable job, doing their best throughout the summer, it was obvious that there was not the original plan in place that is needed to deal with the multiplicity of agencies that are involved. I know the Minister well, and I know she is very committed to the conversation that we need to have. I look forward to contributing to the debate in the weeks and months ahead, but let us make absolutely sure that it is a conversation with an end point and a set of conclusions that we then implement so that we are in a position to have a systematic approach next summer, with the Governments across the UK working together.

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32. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nick Thomas-Symonds

    Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

    The Minister is absolutely right. If we look at the wildfire management in Torfaen, the military personnel were deployed by the UK Government and the Secretary of State for Wales. Obviously, areas such as land management are devolved to the Welsh Government. The Minister is absolutely right about the number of agencies, but does she agree that we need a cross-Government plan to make sure we get that co-ordination right?

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33. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nick Thomas-Symonds

    Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

    Talking about people on the frontline, I am sure the Minister shares my horror that our firefighters did not have the personal protective equipment that they needed. I hope she will pass on to the relevant Minister as a matter of urgency that that is one practical thing that we really need to deal with.

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34. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nick Thomas-Symonds

    Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

    I have one final point. As I said in my speech, there is also an issue around how the UK Government calculated how much money went to the North York Moors National Park Authority for recovery from a peat fire, which is also the situation in Torfaen. Will the Minister undertake to speak to ministerial colleagues about this? I have written to ask how exactly that was calculated. I am sure that is something I could look at putting to the Welsh Government, so will the Minister undertake to secure a response for me?

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35. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Neil Duncan-Jordan

    Pensions Triple Lock

    We should be clear that setting future indexation to a proportion of average earnings means that, over time, the state pension will be lower than under the current system. Given that future generations will increasingly rely on the state pension, it seems like we are going in the wrong direction, but the real concern is that this policy is asking pensioners to pay for the care of other pensioners. Can I ask the Secretary of State why we are not sharing the cost of a new national care service among us all?

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36. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Ms Polly Billington

    Topical Questions

    In fact, the fuel finder it is a good way of ensuring that people have the transparency that is required for the market to really work. The Competition and Markets Authority has found that, fundamentally, the market works competitively, but if anybody finds anything that they suspect to be price gouging, they should report it to the CMA. I would also like to point out that we have frozen fuel duty. Diesel, for example, is £11 cheaper than it would have been under the previous Government before 2024. It is important for Conservative Members to remember that we are doing what we can to bear down on the cost to the motorist and to ensure that the market works as transparently as possible.

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37. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Ms Polly Billington

    Topical Questions

    As a fellow coastal MP, I absolutely rebut the hon. Gentleman’s idea that this Government do not understand coastal or rural communities. I accept the challenges he found with the fuel finder for the Isle of Wight, and we need to ensure that full transparency also extends to making sure that the cheapest fuel possible is available in all communities. I would like to point out, however, that many of his residents will benefit from the announcement we made today on the regulation of heating oil. Off-grid heating oil has, until now, not benefited from regulation; now it will do.

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38. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Ms Polly Billington

    Topical Questions

    I appreciate that the right hon. Gentleman represents one of the most rural parts of the country, and the fact that we have allocated £53 million to help the most vulnerable people across the UK is very important. Some £4.6 million has been given to the Scottish Government, and it is important that they get that money out of the door in order to help the most vulnerable people in his constituency and many others across Scotland.

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39. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Ms Polly Billington

    Topical Questions

    It is important to make it clear what kind of proposals we are considering taking forward. This is about working with the regulators and industry to ensure we have a proportionate regulatory regime and stronger protections for consumers, and that we develop a robust evidence-based framework. We will work with the industry to strengthen consumer protections in the codes of conduct, and we will review industry practices, which currently set minimum order volumes at 500 litres for some customers. We will raise the awareness of payment plans to ensure that customers have the right options available to them. We want to get this right, and that is why we will work with the industry and consumer organisations to ensure that the regulatory framework really makes a difference for consumers in the right hon. Gentleman’s constituency and across the country.

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40. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Ms Polly Billington

    Topical Questions

    My hon. Friend is right that local authorities—in England, in particular—are the ones making the decisions about how they use the crisis and resilience fund money allocated to them in order to support heating-oil households. However, they should be on notice from us. If councils have been allocated money for their crisis and resilience fund in order to support vulnerable households that use heating oil, those councils should be creating criteria so that affected households can access the fund.

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