Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to increase levels of home insulation; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of poor home insulation on health.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is supporting increased levels in home insulation through our ‘help to heat’ schemes. Evidence of the health benefits of Government insulation schemes is gathered as part of those schemes’ evaluations. Recent evaluations show that schemes had a positive impact on general health.
For example, the evaluation of ECO Phase 3 showed 24% of households reported that the measures had a positive impact on the health of anyone within the household. This was higher among households that had someone living there who had a long-standing illness, disability or infirmity (31%) Details of the evaluation can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/653f8705d10f3500139a6b2f/eco-evaluation-phases-2t-3.pdf.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to commission an up-to-date study of the comparative (1) cost and impact, and (2) feasibility and viability, of each type of infrastructure for conveying electricity.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Industry leads on innovation in the technologies and design of the infrastructure developed and delivered to meet our net zero targets. The Government does not currently plan to directly commission any new work.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government on the relative benefits of cable ploughing new power lines.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is aware of cable ploughing as a technique for installing some types of electricity cabling lines and is aware of the Welsh Government’s work into the merits of cable ploughing. The Government looks forward to engaging with the Welsh Government on the outcomes of that work.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 10 May 2024 to Question 24573 on Energy: Debts, whether any additional sums were previously included in the Energy Price Guarantee to cover (a) bad debt, (b) debt administration and (c) working capital.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Energy Price Guarantee provided a unit rate discount on the price of energy for all households with a domestic gas and/or electricity contract, so within this support structure there was no scope for including additional funding for energy debt.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she (a) has taken and (b) plans to take with the devolved Administrations to achieve the (i) mission, (ii) goal and (iii) targets of the Paris Agreement 2015.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DESNZ works closely with the devolved administrations (DAs) on international climate obligations and reporting to the UNFCCC. DESNZ worked with the DAs on the development of the 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and this year will be seeking their views for the 2035 NDC. This reflects the role the DAs play in the UK-wide drive to decarbonise the economy. DESNZ accredited 20 delegates from DAs to attend COP28 and will accredit DAs delegates to attend COP29.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative costs of undergrounding power lines by (1) cable ploughing, and (2) open trenching.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Undergrounding is usually by open trenching with costs varying between 5-10 times those of overhead lines. These costs are from the Institution of Engineering and Technology Study, 2012. Cable ploughing is a newer method of undergrounding some types of electricity cables. The Government has not made a formal assessment of those costs. The Government regularly engages with industry to understand new opportunities and innovations.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an estimate of the percentage of the UK's total energy requirement that will be delivered through the Advanced Nuclear Fund in each of the next ten years.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Advanced Nuclear Fund (ANF) is a £385m fund that supports innovation in nuclear energy. It was announced in 2020 and is due to conclude in March 2025. It includes a grant of up to £210m to Rolls Royce SMR Ltd to develop their Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design, as well as other funding for Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) research and development.
The Government has set out a commitment for SMRs to be operational in the UK by the mid-2030s, and to build an AMR demonstrator by the early 2030s, as part of the wider ambition for nuclear power to provide up to 25% of the UK’s electricity by 2050. The ANF promotes innovations that will help to meet these goals, and therefore its contribution to the UK’s total energy requirement will be from the mid-2030s.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many energy efficiency measures have been installed by parliamentary constituency between 2010 and 2024.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department published figures on the number of energy efficiency measures installed by parliamentary constituency between January 2013 and December 2023 in the Household Energy Efficiency Statistics, detailed report 2023 (Table 1.7), here. Data on 2024 installations are published in individual scheme monthly statistics: Boiler Upgrade Scheme, here; Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery and Homes Upgrade Grant, here; Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (Wave 1) here; Great British Insulation Scheme here; ECO data will be available here.
Prior to 2013, Government support for energy efficiency measures was provided via the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and Community Energy Saving Programme. Further information can be found here and here.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much has been spent through the Local Authority Delivery Scheme; and how many measures have been installed as a result of that expenditure, by parliamentary constituency.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The first phase of the Local Authority Delivery Scheme allocated £200m in grants to over 200 Local Authorities. Phase 1 delivered upgrades to 18,634 homes. Phase 2 allocated £300m to the five Local Net Zero Hubs, who worked with their regional Local Authorities to continue to deliver energy efficiency upgrades to 20,542 homes. A £287m third phase of funding built on Phase 1 and 2 of LAD, Delivery commenced in early 2022 and ended in September 2023 having upgraded 19,716 homes to date. Statistics, including a breakdown of the measures delivered by area can be found on Gov.uk.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much has been spent through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme; and how many measures have been installed as a result of that expenditure, by parliamentary constituency.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As of the end of March 2024 the total value of grants paid through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is £138.9 million.
Application, redemption, and payment data is published monthly on Gov.uk. The number of grants paid for heat pump and biomass boiler installations by parliamentary constituency up to the end of March 2024 can be found in the March statistics published here in table Q1.3 : https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/boiler-upgrade-scheme-statistics-march-2024.