Engagements — House of Commons, 2022-01-05
Topic: Energy
Questions: The biggest factor driving up our fuel bills and cost of living is the sky-rocketing international price of gas, which is currently dancing to a tune set in Moscow. Does the Prime Minister agree that Labour’s short-term proposals to shift the burden from bill payers to taxpayers will not address the fundamental underlying problem at all, and that the crisis demands structural reforms to the energy price cap, rather than just resetting it to later this year, as well as energy self-sufficiency to uncouple us from Russian gas?; The London Borough of Bromley has achieved the fastest and most significant improvement in children’s services of any local authority in England. Much of the credit is due to its exceptional chief executive, Mr Ade Adetosoye. Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating Mr Adetosoye on his appointment as a Commander of the British Empire in the new year honours list, and congratulate the Conservative majority on the council on delivering the only debt-free council in London?; Hospitalisations in London have peaked, so the Prime Minister was absolutely right to hold his nerve on new restrictions in the last few weeks, but does he agree that the NHS faces not just omicron staffing absences, but permanent and dangerous staffing shortfalls in nearly every specialty? Will he end the cycle whereby those shortfalls continually threaten not just patient care, but sometimes even our freedoms, by overhauling workforce planning by backing Baroness Cumberlege’s amendment to the Health and Care Bill in the House of Lords, having a word with his neighbour in Downing Street and making 2022 the year we finally solve this problem?; Diolch yn fawr iawn, Lefarydd. My mother, Dr Nancy Saville, was diagnosed with dementia just before Christmas. She had a stroke a year ago. I was called to sit with her in hospital on Monday because of a covid staff shortage but I fear that, like many of our constituents in similar circumstances, we are likely to be separated indefinitely when she is moved into an EMI, or elderly mentally infirm, nursing home. John’s Campaign has successfully campaigned in every UK nation that people disabled by dementia have a special need for person-centred care—under the Equality Act 2010—but in reality there remain many care homes and hospitals where even the most minimal visits can be denied, leading to isolation and separation, which cause irreversible damage to wellbeing. Does he agree that the human rights of disabled people, sick people and the elderly are not fair-weather luxuries, and that everyone with dementia, wherever they live, has the right to family life?; Many of my constituents have contacted me with their concerns about rising utility bills and the high cost of fuel for their cars. People in rural constituencies such as Sleaford and North Hykeham are particularly affected by this, because rural areas are colder in the winter, many homes are not on the gas grid, rural people are much more reliant on their cars, and public services are very much further from home. I therefore ask my right hon. Friend what more he can do, particularly in rural communities, to ensure that my constituents have a reliable and affordable source of energy and fuel.
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend has drawn attention to a very important consideration as we try to abate the increases in the costs of gas and of energy. For people in rural constituencies such as her own, it will be important that we have frozen fuel duty for the 12th year in a row, that the energy price cap itself remains in place, and that we are doing everything we can to help people with the energy efficiency of their homes. We are also taking all the other measures that I have explained to the House, but the most important thing that we can do to help people in her constituency and across the country is to have sustainable, clean, cheaper forms of energy, and that is what this Government are investing in now. We are taking the tough decisions necessary.