Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the merits of gas central heating in providing a more beneficial score in an EPC rating than any form of electrical heating.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) use an Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) to measure the energy performance of homes based on their estimated running costs. Since energy costs can be a significant outlay, it is important that homeowners and occupiers are aware of the running costs of their home. Basing the rating and recommendations of the EPC on cost ensures that improvements recommended by the EPC will lead to a reduction in energy costs.
The Government continues to keep the metrics on the EPC under review as we develop policy to decarbonise buildings and tackle fuel poverty. Recent consultations on policies that use EPCs, such as minimum energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector, have sought views on different metric options, such as the use of both a carbon-based and cost-based metric.
Furthermore, to ensure electric heat pumps will be no more expensive to run than gas boilers, we want to work with energy providers to reduce the price of electricity over the next decade by shifting levies and obligations away from electricity. We will launch a call for evidence on the different options for rebalancing electricity and gas prices, with a view to taking decisions in 2022.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the position that homes built prior to 1920, which could be double glazed, and unlikely to have cavity walls would require gas central heating to reach an EPC rating of C.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s ambition is for as many homes as possible reach EPC Band C by 2035, where practical, cost-effective and affordable. The UK has already made good progress in improving the energy performance of its homes, with 40% of homes in England now at Energy Performance Ratings (EPC) Band C or above, up from just 9% in 2008.
In order to support further improvements to homes, the Government is:
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the position where owners of flats in old buildings may need to install (a) gas central heating or (b) storage radiators which require sub-main cabling to meet the EPC rating of C in the most cost-effective way.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s ambition is for as many homes as possible reach EPC Band C by 2035, where practical, cost-effective and affordable. The UK has already made good progress in improving the energy performance of its homes, with 40% of homes in England now at Energy Performance Ratings (EPC) Band C or above, up from just 9% in 2008.
In order to support further improvements to homes, the Government is:
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government plans to take to help make it easier for people with homes in conservation areas to achieve an EPC rating of C or higher.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s ambition is for as many homes as possible reach EPC Band C by 2035, where practical, cost-effective and affordable. The UK has already made good progress in improving the energy performance of its homes, with 40% of homes in England now at Energy Performance Ratings (EPC) Band C or above, up from just 9% in 2008.
In order to support further improvements to homes, the Government is:
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to help make it easier for people with homes without cavity walls to achieve an EPC rating of C or higher.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s ambition is for as many homes as possible reach EPC Band C by 2035, where practical, cost-effective and affordable. The UK has already made good progress in improving the energy performance of its homes, with 40% of homes in England now at Energy Performance Ratings (EPC) Band C or above, up from just 9% in 2008.
In order to support further improvements to homes, the Government is:
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 8 October to Question 99055 on Construction: Coronavrius, what steps he is taking to tackle shortages of building products in the construction industry.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Whilst the supply situation for most building products has steadily improved over time, the Government continues to work closely with the Construction Leadership Council’s Coronavirus Task Force, which is monitoring the supply and demand of products.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2020 to Question 68388 on Construction Materials, what progress the Government has made on its work with the Construction Leadership Council’s Coronavirus Task Force; and what products have been identified as in short supply.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government continues to work closely with the construction sector to ensure that it can support the economic recovery. This includes the work of the Construction Leadership Council’s Coronavirus Task Force, which continues to monitor the supply and demand of products.
Products in short supply recently include plaster, ceramic roof tiles, external timber and related products, and hard landscaping products. Whilst the supply situation for most products has steadily improved over time, we continue to work closely with the industry to monitor this.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the capacity of the building supply trade to supply the needs of shovel ready projects.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The construction sector will be a key part of our economic recovery following the Covid-19 outbreak. The Government continues to work closely with the sector to ensure that it is in a position to support the economic recovery, including the building supply trade.
This includes the work of the Construction Leadership Council’s Coronavirus Task Force, which has established a product availability working group comprised of product manufacturers, builders’ merchants and suppliers, contractors of all sizes, and housebuilders. The Task Force will monitor the supply and demand of products and identify those in short supply.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what her policy is on enabling solar technologies to access the Contracts for Difference auction mechanism.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
Solar PV has deployed successfully to date in the UK, with 13.5GW installed operational capacity as a result of government policy. Several solar projects are currently deploying without subsidy from the Government and we expect others may follow.
No decisions have been made on future Contracts for Difference allocation rounds for Pot 1 technologies, which include solar.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the contribution that (a) rooftop solar, (b) solar farms and (c) onshore wind can make to delivering the 2050 net-zero emissions target; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Solar PV is a UK success story. Over 99% of the UK’s solar PV capacity has been deployed since May 2010, and now provides 13.5GW of renewable electricity. 13.8GW of onshore wind capacity has now also been installed in the UK, enough to power over 7.6 million UK homes. Renewable technologies have an essential part to play in meeting the 2050 net zero emissions commitment as part of a diverse energy system.