Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote lower use of energy given the challenges of (1) climate change, (2) energy security, and (3) the cost of energy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has committed to decarbonising heat and buildings, with support targeted at lower-income households through schemes such as the Home Upgrade Grant, Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, Local Authority Delivery Scheme, and the Energy Company Obligation. We are also supporting industry to reduce energy use, including through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund supporting investments in energy efficiency.
The Government set out in the British Energy Security Strategy its approach to building a secure, clean and affordable energy system, including additional measures to support consumers to cut their energy consumption and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, making homes warmer and more energy efficient while helping to reduce bills.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of allegations of profiteering in the retail sale of petrol and diesel, especially amongst motorway service stations; and what steps they will take to address such profiteering.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There are rules requiring transparency of petrol and diesel prices, including at motorway service stations so that prices are displayed before fuelling commences. Consumers can then make an informed purchase decision.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recently stated that it stands ready to take action should there be evidence that competition or consumer protection law has been broken in the fuel retail market, and is monitoring the evidence closely. The CMA will continue to work with BEIS to analyse developments. This work will build on the knowledge base the CMA has accumulated during some of the recent mergers it has intervened on in this sector.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to encourage employers to provide employment for refugees from Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ukrainian refugees will have the right to work as soon as they arrive in the UK. The Government will provide refugees with resources to help them find a job, for example ‘Find a Job’ and Jobcentre Plus work coaches for those awarded Universal Credit.
The Department for Work and Pensions is working with employers and partners to support refugees with employment opportunities, including working alongside the Refugee Employment Network to support Ukrainian refugees to offer employment opportunities and training.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) security, and (2) cost, of energy, in light of the hostilities in Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government remains confident that Great Britain’s energy security will be maintained. The Government works closely with Ofgem, National Grid Gas and other key industry organisations to monitor gas supply and demand, and the National Grid Electricity System Operator has the tools it needs to operate the electricity system reliably.
In the past 5 years the UK has met nearly half of its annual gas supply through domestic production, with most imports coming from reliable suppliers such as Norway. Less than 4% of our gas was sourced directly from Russia in 2021.
The Government has experienced gas prices at historic highs reflecting a number of market fundamentals, but also the current uncertain geopolitical situation. The Government is working closely with key international and industry partners to monitor gas supply and demand, and remains confident that Great Britain’s energy security will be maintained.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any delays in Royal Mail postal services caused and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the effects of such delays on wellbeing and the economy; and what measures they are considering to remedy these delays.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the importance of a reliable universal postal service to customers, businesses, and local communities across the UK, and we know postal workers have been working exceptionally hard to meet demand over the recent peak period and in light of Covid-19 related absences.
Royal Mail has publicly stated that it is aware of the reduction in service levels in some areas and is taking action to reduce delays to deliveries. Its contingency plans to mitigate disruption to postal services are overseen by Ofcom, the independent regulator responsible for monitoring the delivery of the universal postal service.
Ofcom continues to monitor Royal Mail’s performance to ensure it is providing the best service it can to customers and has powers to investigate and take enforcement action if Royal Mail fails to achieve its performance targets.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any potential impact on electricity supply to the UK of the plans by the government of France to decarbonise that country's energy production.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great Britain benefits from a diverse electricity mix, meaning the Government is not dependent on any one supplier or market participant for ensuring security of supply.
The Capacity Market is the Government’s policy tool to maintain secure electricity supplies in Great Britain. It secures the capacity needed to meet likely peak demand for future years. When determining the capacity needed, the National Grid Electricity System Operator considers what capacity will be available from interconnected countries, including France, in their advice.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) protect, and (2) promote, the hospitality sector in the (a) short, (b) medium, and (c) long, term.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government moved to Plan B in England as it was necessary to control the spread of transmission of the new threat posed by the Omicron variant and the potential impact on businesses. In order to support all businesses across the UK economy throughout the COVID-19 pandemic we have provided businesses with an unprecedented support package of £400 billion, including grants, loans, business rates relief, VAT cuts and the job retention scheme. This includes a total of over £26bn in business grants. The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) fund is open until March 2022.
We are also engaging closely with the hospitality sector to listen to their concerns and help them in their recovery. Additionally, we are working closely with the sector through the Hospitality Sector Council to implement the hospitality strategy which was launched in July. The strategy sets out how the UK government will work with the hospitality sector, as it reopens and recovers from COVID-19, to build the sector’s longer-term resilience. It includes a dedicated recovery working group, made of sector organisations, businesses and government officials, looking at solutions to manage urgent Covid 19 impacts on the sector.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the projected sale of the Vaccine Manufacturing Innovation Centre at Harwell; and when they will publish any such assessment.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Vaccine Manufacturing Innovation Centre (VMIC) UK is a private company, limited by guarantee, and as such the UK Government does not exercise any ownership rights. Grant funding has been provided initially to support vaccine manufacturing innovation in the UK and latterly in response to Covid-19.
We are working closely with VMIC and other third parties to ensure the UK retains a strong domestic vaccine manufacturing capability to contribute to the UK’s resilience against COVID-19 and other future health emergencies. At present, these discussions are commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote good practice in combating climate change to (1) listed, and (2) unlisted, companies.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is working with listed and unlisted companies to encourage ambitious action on climate change.
Listed
Unlisted
Ahead of COP 26, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister launched the Together for our Planet Business Climate Leaders’ campaign. The aim of the campaign is to encourage small businesses to make a net zero commitment via the UK Business Climate Hub and get help and advice on reducing their emissions. Tens of thousands of small and micro businesses were reached through this initiative and over 2,400 UK small businesses have pledged to go green and reduce their emissions.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the level of worldwide carbon emissions in 2021; and what estimate they have made of projected carbon emissions in (1) 2022, (2) 2023, (3) 2024, and (4) 2025.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Various sources suggest a rebound in emissions in 2021, along with the economic recovery after the pandemic, to just below 2019 levels.
The United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Gap report 2021 estimated total global emissions of 58.1Gt CO2 for 2019 (the latest year available for all greenhouse gases). Fossil fuel CO2 made up 37.9Gt, but fell 5.4% to 36Gt CO2 in 2020. The International Energy Agency (IEA) and Global Carbon Project suggest a rebound in 2021 with an increase on 2020 levels of 4.8-4.9% in CO2.
Various projections from UNEP, IEA, BloombergNEF and others suggest plateauing or slowly growing emissions beyond 2021 if we don’t increase global action. This underscores the need to urgently increase both ambition and action to deliver the commitments made at Glasgow, and go further to continue closing the gap to 1.5°C.
The Glasgow Climate Pact, combined with increased ambition across adaptation, finance and mitigation means that 1.5°C remains in sight, but only with concerted and immediate global efforts.
The pact will speed up the pace of climate action this decade, with all countries agreeing to revisit their emissions targets in 2022, as well as developed countries agreeing to double support for action on adapting to climate change by 2025.