Question
The Minister clearly did not hear: I referred to the removal of councillors’ powers to make decisions on applications relating to over 150 homes, which happened at an early stage of the year. Moving on, the warm homes grant has come in for cuts. We have now discovered that not only is £1 billion being cut from the scheme, but an extra £1.5 billion will be cut from the loan system that goes towards those warm homes. How will people get the renewable energy and efficient homes they need if the scheme is being dismantled in this way?
Answer
I will leave my ministerial colleagues in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to answer on the warm homes plan specifically. However, I hope the hon. Gentleman agrees that when it comes to decency, safety and quality, this Government have taken a number of steps, including Awaab’s law, a new decent homes standard, new minimum energy efficiency standards and a new future homes standard. I know he agrees that that future homes standard should be kept in place, not abolished as the Conservative party would have us do.12% point-scoring
Verdict: RED (10/100) DEFERRED
The reply does not address the question about the national scheme of delegation, its commencement date, or whether it is too early to assess its impact. It discusses housing decency, safety and energy-efficiency standards instead. On the question about how the warm homes plan will still deliver upgrades after the grant and loan cuts, the reply refers the matter to ministerial colleagues in another department and gives no substantive account, so the asker would likely need to ask again.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disputes the claim that the national scheme of delegation powers were only commenced on Saturday, so that it is premature to say they have had no impact. | Not Addressed | Generic | None of the answer statements mention the national scheme of delegation, its commencement date, or whether it is too early to assess its impact; they concern housing decency, safety and energy-efficiency standards instead, so the disputed claim is neither defended nor rebutted. |
| What is the department doing to ensure households can still access the renewable energy and energy-efficient home upgrades the warm homes scheme was intended to deliver, given the reported £1 billion cut to the grant and £1.5 billion cut to the associated loan scheme? | Deferred | Hedged | The reply refers the warm homes plan and the grant and loan cuts to DESNZ ministerial colleagues without giving any substantive account of what is being done, and the remaining statements on minimum energy efficiency and future homes standards are a different policy area that does not explain how the warm homes grant will still deliver upgrades. |