Asked by: Baroness Hayman (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 14 May (HL Deb cols 2301), what assessment they have made of the results of the Green Homes Finance Accelerator programme, and what plans they have to take forward and scale up any of its initiatives.
Answered by Baroness Curran
The Green Home Finance Accelerator programme, supports the development of innovative green finance products and services that help homeowners cover the upfront cost of decarbonising their homes.
Following a competitive process, 26 projects were awarded funding to research and develop their product over a six-month Discovery Phase. 13 projects were successful in securing a share of approximately £16 million to pilot their products with homeowners across the UK until June 2025. The results of the pilot phase for each project will be published later in the year and the Government will use the findings of these to inform future policy development.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to produce a warm homes plan, as set out in the Labour Party Manifesto 2024; and when they expect to publish it.
Answered by Baroness Curran
The Government will publish a Warm Homes Plan in due course, this will set out how we will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future.
As the first step towards the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency, with £1bn of this allocated to 2025/2026.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 15 May (HL7063–7), what plans they have to monitor the amount and types of land that solar panels are installed on in the future.
Answered by Baroness Curran
The Department currently monitors the geographical location of solar developments through the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD). We plan to broaden the scope of this database to provide information on the area and types of agricultural land used by existing solar projects and those in the planning pipeline.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 14 May (HL Deb cols 2301), what plans they have to introduce low-interest loans for landlords to install energy efficiency measures, similar to schemes in Scotland.
Answered by Baroness Curran
Private finance can play a key role in helping us achieve our decarbonisation ambitions. As part of the Government’s ambitious Warm Homes Plan, officials are exploring the role of incentives and private finance for households to support homeowners, including landlords, with the upfront costs of energy efficiency upgrades and low carbon energy technology. This includes engaging with the finance sector on the potential for low-interest loans.
After the spending review, we will be publishing the Warm Homes Plan which will set out further details.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 14 May (HL Deb cols 2301), what plans they have to introduce property-linked finance for energy efficiency improvements.
Answered by Baroness Curran
The Government recognises the important role that private finance can play in supporting with the upfront costs of energy efficiency improvements and low carbon heating. We are reviewing property-linked finance schemes implemented in countries such as the United States, Australia and Canada. We will continue to explore options for working with the private sector, including banks and building societies, to scale up private finance and support owners and businesses to future-proof their buildings.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many ground-mounted solar projects have been (1) permitted, and (2) built on grades 3a and 3b agricultural land since 2020; and what is the total acreage of those projects.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government places great importance upon our agricultural land and food production. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should recognise the benefits of the Best and Most Versatile Agricultural Land (land in grades 1, 2 and 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) system). Where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality.
As of the end of September 2024, ground-mounted solar PV panels covered an estimated 21,200 hectares. This amounts to around 0.1% of the land area of the UK. The government does not hold information on the number of ground-mounted solar projects that have been permitted and built on different agricultural grades, or the number of acres of grade 1 and 2 land which has been built on since 2020.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many ground-mounted solar projects have been (1) permitted and (2) built on grades 4 and 5 agricultural land since 2020; and what is the total acreage of those projects.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government places great importance upon our agricultural land and food production. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should recognise the benefits of the Best and Most Versatile Agricultural Land (land in grades 1, 2 and 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) system). Where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality.
As of the end of September 2024, ground-mounted solar PV panels covered an estimated 21,200 hectares. This amounts to around 0.1% of the land area of the UK. The government does not hold information on the number of ground-mounted solar projects that have been permitted and built on different agricultural grades, or the number of acres of grade 1 and 2 land which has been built on since 2020.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many ground-mounted solar projects have been (1) permitted, and (2) built on grades 1 and 2 agricultural land since 2020; and what is the total acreage of those projects.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government places great importance upon our agricultural land and food production. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should recognise the benefits of the Best and Most Versatile Agricultural Land (land in grades 1, 2 and 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) system). Where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality.
As of the end of September 2024, ground-mounted solar PV panels covered an estimated 21,200 hectares. This amounts to around 0.1% of the land area of the UK. The government does not hold information on the number of ground-mounted solar projects that have been permitted and built on different agricultural grades, or the number of acres of grade 1 and 2 land which has been built on since 2020.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of farmland is currently used by ground-mounted solar panels; and what estimate they have made of the percentage of farmland used by ground-mounted solar panels by 2050.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government places great importance upon our agricultural land and food production. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should recognise the benefits of the Best and Most Versatile Agricultural Land (land in grades 1, 2 and 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) system). Where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality.
As of the end of September 2024, ground-mounted solar PV panels covered an estimated 21,200 hectares. This amounts to around 0.1% of the land area of the UK. The government does not hold information on the number of ground-mounted solar projects that have been permitted and built on different agricultural grades, or the number of acres of grade 1 and 2 land which has been built on since 2020.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many acres of grade 1 and 2 agricultural land have been built on since 2020.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government places great importance upon our agricultural land and food production. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should recognise the benefits of the Best and Most Versatile Agricultural Land (land in grades 1, 2 and 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) system). Where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality.
As of the end of September 2024, ground-mounted solar PV panels covered an estimated 21,200 hectares. This amounts to around 0.1% of the land area of the UK. The government does not hold information on the number of ground-mounted solar projects that have been permitted and built on different agricultural grades, or the number of acres of grade 1 and 2 land which has been built on since 2020.