Low-carbon Heat Networks

Debate between Lord Whitehead and Lord Grantchester

Wednesday 22nd April 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

Yes, the Government believe that those targets can be met, and local authorities up and down the country have shown, by activities in their own areas, that they are very keen to make sure that those targets are met. Following earlier requests for expressions of interest, the applications for heat networks have shown that there is enormous interest in developing heat networks in various parts of the country—interest led not only by local authorities but by various local communities, including possible interest in the Great British Energy plan to develop 1,000 local schemes by the end of this Parliament. The will to do it is there; we need to make sure that there is the support for these new developments as they go forward, so that the schemes can come forward in the best way possible.

[Lord Grantchester (Lab)]

My Lords, the decarbonisation of heat remains one of the biggest challenges to achieving net zero, and heat networks are a new growth opportunity. Is it not anomalous that there are no decarbonisation requirements on non-domestic buildings? I agree with my noble friend the Minister and his confidence. Could the public sector take a lead on this, with local authorities being resourced to implement heat network zoning to encourage heat connection and supply to suitable buildings at competitive prices?

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

The heat network zoning arrangements now in place are not just for purely domestic heat networks. To refer again to a particular heat network I am familiar with, that is a heat network that includes both residential domestic housing and a number of commercial and industrial properties. Ensuring that that heat zoning takes account, as far as it can, of the opportunities for heat networks to operate for commercial and industrial buildings, as well as residential properties, is clearly a substantial part of that move and will shape how heat networks develop in future years.

Electricity: Domestic Pricing

Debate between Lord Whitehead and Lord Grantchester

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

The reference that the noble Baroness makes to Denmark is an interesting one, inasmuch as the Danish system is wholly integrated between renewables, heat and power of different kinds—particularly district heating and various such things, which can be used in conjunction with other forms of energy to provide a balanced overall system. It is true that Denmark continues to produce oil and gas but also that Denmark is, along with the UK, looking at methods of making sure that relates to production for the future rather than exploration.

[Lord Grantchester (Lab)]

My Lords, this is one aspect of the high cost of electricity in the UK. The wider question it raises is: what plans do the Government have to reduce the cost of electricity? On the electrification of the energy mix of the future, which is among the many answers that my noble friend the Minister may wish to give, do the Government need to consider bringing forward a strategic national plan with a focus on the lessons to be learned from this present crisis?

Warm Homes Plan

Debate between Lord Whitehead and Lord Grantchester

Tuesday 27th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for that contribution. The question of heat pumps and insulation is very clear: heat pumps do not work as well as they should if a property is poorly insulated, so increasing insulation hand in hand with heat pump installation is a very wise thing to do. However, among other things, the warm homes plan tries to take a measured view of where fabric improvements are perhaps necessary and needed, and where other forms of enhanced energy considerations could take their place. There are properties that are very difficult to insulate to the right standards but, with solar, batteries, heat pumps and such things, they can come up to the sort of standard you require. So this warm homes plan is a little more careful about the combination of various factors. Elements of the plan will involve fabric—probably about 700,000 homes will continue to get fabric uprating—but other factors will be coming into being.

I will be happy to write to the noble Baroness about the future homes plan and how that will work out. It is under way at the moment and will, among other things, ensure that new homes, when built, will be of a sufficient standard that they will not need fabric uprating for the future, because it will be in the definition of those new homes. That is going to be produced shortly and I will certainly inform the noble Baroness about its progress as soon as I can.

[Lord Grantchester (Lab)]

This is great news, my Lords. It would be good to be reassured that the warm homes agency will act as a one-stop shop to provide advice to consumers to help them navigate through the best options for their homes. The fuel poverty strategy rightly recognises the importance of using and sharing data to support more effective targeting and delivery of fuel poverty interventions, such as energy efficiency upgrades and installations of low-carbon technologies. Can the Minister outline how the Government intend to use anonymised and aggregated smart meter data to enable those interventions to reach those households in greatest need?

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

There is a large number of applications of anonymised and aggregated data from smart meters, assuming that you have enough smart meters installed in any one place to make the data meaningful. We still have some problems with that and the smart meter rollout but, in general, it can be used for a variety of applications. For example, the warm homes programme is looking to develop area-based applications wherever possible: having the data on where people in fuel poverty are and what areas have a concentration of such people gives you a very good chance of making sure that you can relate the investment that you are putting in with actually making a difference on fuel poverty. Previously, one of the problems with schemes was that we just did not know where those people were. Quite often, the schemes operated a scattergun approach that did not really hit the target as they should have done.

Tropical Forest Forever Facility

Debate between Lord Whitehead and Lord Grantchester

Tuesday 9th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

I will indeed have to write to the noble Lord about where exactly that report is at the moment. I remind him that the UK is extremely active on its biodiversity arrangements, particularly its forestry and woodland arrangements. The target for the 16.5% coverage of woodland and forestry in England by 2050 is already being substantially adhered to: 21,000 hectares of new woodland were introduced last year, which is a generational record. The UK will continue to act in that manner on its biodiversity commitments.

[Lord Grantchester (Lab)]

My Lords, I pay tribute to our Secretary of State for DESNZ and his team for their dedication to keep attention on the climate agenda. Does my noble friend agree that, besides finance, the United Kingdom’s organisational support and commitment to encourage deeper participation from other nations are critical to realising effective change?

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

Yes, I agree with my noble friend. The UK continues to be one of the major donors to forest conservation and restoration, and we expect to deliver on the £1.5 billion of spending on forests pledged at COP 26. The UK is co-chair of the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership, a coalition of more than 30 Governments working together to accelerate delivery of the goal to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030. This played an instrumental role in delivering key commitments for indigenous peoples and local communities —who are, after all, the best stewards of tropical forest development and protection—including a commitment that will regularise land tenure in 160 million hectares of forest, one of the most effective ways to protect forests. We also backed the Belém call for the Congo Basin, which will deepen forest protection in the world’s second-largest rainforest.