Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of localised connectivity limitations on rural households; and what steps he is taking to ensure that rural communities are not disadvantaged in comparison with urban areas.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is working closely with the DCC and energy suppliers to ensure smart meter connectivity can be extended to currently unserved properties in all regions as soon as reasonably possible. One such solution, currently being trialled, will involve Virtual WAN (VWAN) - a new option that, with their consent, uses customers’ broadband connections to carry smart metering communications.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 5 February 2026 to Question 110095, whether the Department plans to publish route-specific or island impact assessments before domestic maritime is brought into scope of the UK ETS in 2026.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Impact Assessment set out that it is not possible to robustly break down compliance costs to the level of individual routes or service types, as ticket prices, fare structures and commercial operating decisions vary widely. The Assessment therefore considers impacts at the sector and scheme level.
The Authority consulted extensively with all operators, including those serving island mainland and shortsea routes, to ensure all perspectives informed policy development.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Department has considered expanding the remit of the Warm Homes programme to provide impartial and reliable guidance on electric vehicle adoption and associated technologies, similar to the support provided by the Home Energy Scotland service for energy efficiency and heating.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
One of the main objectives of the Warm Homes Agency is to provide reliable, impartial advice to support consumers through their home decarbonisation journey and the Government will be taking learnings from other trusted sources to aid its design of the Agency. The full scope of the Agency, including the design and contents of its advisory function, is being finalised and will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Clean energy upgrades for hospitals and military sites, published on 5 February 2026, whether any of the funding for new batteries and solar panels will go to (a) Basildon hospital and (b) other hospitals in Essex.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Basildon Hospital was not one of the hospitals to receive funding for batteries or solar PV as part of the announcement on 5 February 2026. However, it did receive £246,460 of funding for LED lighting energy efficiency upgrades.
As for other hospitals in Essex, Colchester Hospital received £137,940 for solar PV as part of the announcement.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Clean Industry Bonus on driving private investment in British manufacturing including in coastal and industrial communities.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Clean Industry Bonus will ensure public funding supports high quality jobs in offshore wind by requiring firms to sign a Fair Work Charter. The Fair Work Charter commits signatories to early implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025, supporting access to trade unions across the sector. Additionally, it will commit signatories to strive for best practice health and safety at work.
The associated Impact Assessment highlights that the overall impact of changes to the Clean Industry Bonus are expected to be positive.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Clean energy upgrades for hospitals and military sites, published on 5 February 2026, whether (a) Basildon hospital and (b) any hospitals in Essex will receive funding to improve energy efficiency.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Basildon Hospital will receive £246,460 of funding for LED lighting energy efficiency upgrades.
Other sites from the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust to receive funding for LED lighting energy efficiency upgrades are:
Colchester Hospital is also receiving £137,940 for solar PV and is part of the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what support is available from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme for devolved Administrations and Scottish local authorities for low-carbon retrofit programmes.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) provided grant funding to public sector organisations in England, and to bodies with reserved functions operating in the devolved administrations, to install heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures in public sector buildings. The scheme is closed to new applications with no further phases planned.
We encourage public sector bodies operating in the devolved administrations to check the respective devolved government websites for information on the support available to them.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Clean energy upgrades for hospitals and military sites, published on 5 February 2026, whether the £9 million to be delivered in partnership with Great British Energy is separate from the £74 million energy upgrades.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The £9 million is part of the £74 million of funding for clean energy upgrades announced on 5 February 2026. Solar PV and battery installations are being delivered in partnership with Great British Energy.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 assessment of the effectiveness of extending a specific price cap, comparable to that applying to domestic customers, to landlords of vacant residential properties supplied under deemed energy contracts following the end of a tenancy.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Price Cap was established to protect existing and future domestic customers who pay standard variable and default rates from a ‘loyalty penalty’. The non-domestic energy market is significantly more complicated, with considerable variation in consumption levels, so the domestic cap could not be extended to cover deemed rates for non-domestic contracts.
Ofgem published updated guidance on the rules for deemed rates in November 2023. This prohibits suppliers from profiting significantly more from deemed rates than from their wider contracts, alongside a broader protection against unduly onerous contract terms. Last year Ofgem also approved improvements to the Retail Energy Code, standardising how supplier’s manage changes of occupancy involving landlords and other non-domestic consumers.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the risk of carbon leakage for refineries before and after January 2028, compared to other industrial sectors.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK ETS Authority recently concluded a review into free allocation policy which confirmed refining is at risk of carbon leakage and will continue to be eligible to receive support through free allocation, measured against an efficiency standard. The review also determined that the efficiency standard used to set free allocations would be maintained in 2027, providing operators in the sector with the necessary certainty to plan for the forthcoming allocation period. This will provide continuity and additional time for industrial sectors to plan for future benchmark updates, which are expected in 2028. Ahead of this the UK ETS Authority will perform and assessment of impacts on businesses, including those in the Refining sector.