Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many households they have helped with home insulation measures in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
From 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023 (latest available data), around 97,100 insulation measures were installed in domestic properties under the following schemes: Energy Company Obligation, Great British Insulation Scheme, Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, Green Homes Local Authority Delivery and Home Upgrade Grant. Under these schemes, some households may have had more than one type of insulation measure installed. Statistics for each of these schemes are published on the gov.uk website.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many households they aim to help with home insulation measures in the next 12 months; and what budget is available to support this.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
While the Department does not hold precise estimates of how many households will be treated in next twelve months, we estimate around 450,000 will be supported via the Energy Company Obligation Scheme from April 2022 to March 2026 with the scheme funding approx. £1 billion per calendar year.
The Government also estimate over 300,000 homes will be supported via the Great British Insulation Scheme from April 2022 to March 2026 with £1 billion funding available across that period.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what investment they are making in nuclear energy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has invested £700m to develop the Sizewell C project – the first state backing for a nuclear project in over 30 years.
The Government is investing in new nuclear, launching the £120m Future Nuclear Enabling Fund as well as the £75m Nuclear Fuel Fund to develop existing and future fuel capabilities.
The Advanced Nuclear Fund of up to £385m is funding Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and Advanced Modular Reactors. Up to £210m of this is helping to develop the Rolls Royce SMR design. The Fund is also supporting an AMR Research Development & Demonstration competition.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the difference in the cost of fuel between Northern Ireland and Great Britain; and what steps they intend to take in response.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government collects price data on a national average basis but is aware that, on average, fuel prices in Northern Ireland are generally cheaper than those in other parts of the United Kingdom. The Government therefore welcomes the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) market study into Great Britain’s road fuel market, investigating factors driving price variations. The CMA will publish its report including options for possible next steps by 7th July. The Government will carefully consider the recommendations, while looking at pro consumer options, which could give drivers better access to fuel price data.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the contractual contributions to the construction of small nuclear reactors that they will have made by 2025.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has not made contractual commitments to the constructors of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and no SMR projects have yet reached Final Investment Decision (FID) or begun construction.
However, the Government has committed up to £385m for R&D through the Advanced Nuclear Fund, including up to £210m for Rolls Royce SMR Ltd, to develop further their design for one of the world’s first Small Modular Reactors.
In 2023, the Government intends to run a selection process to identify projects, including SMRs, that might reach FID in the next Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what contractual commitments they have made to the constructors of small modular nuclear reactors to date.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has not made contractual commitments to the constructors of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and no SMR projects have yet reached Final Investment Decision (FID) or begun construction.
However, the Government has committed up to £385m for R&D through the Advanced Nuclear Fund, including up to £210m for Rolls Royce SMR Ltd, to develop further their design for one of the world’s first Small Modular Reactors.
In 2023, the Government intends to run a selection process to identify projects, including SMRs, that might reach FID in the next Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government regarding the construction of small modular nuclear reactors in that country.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government engages with a range of Welsh stakeholders, including the Welsh Government and Welsh Government-funded bodies, on nuclear issues including small modular reactors (SMRs).
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the governments of other European countries regarding the comparative cost of energy to consumers in the UK and those countries; and what lessons they have learned from those discussions.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Government has discussions with governments of other countries on a range of issues. The Department publishes comparisons between the UK and European countries from Eurostat price data.
Differences in prices across countries are influenced by many factors, including differences in fuel mixes, market structures, regulation, and taxation strategies within each country. This means that while all countries have been affected by the rise in global energy prices, the impact on households and businesses will vary between countries. The Government has announced a package of measures to support people and businesses with their energy bills and tackle the root causes of the issues in the UK energy market through increased supply.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of energy customers with prepayment meters who have been unable to pay their energy bills in the last three calendar years.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem only holds data for smart meters in prepayment mode that have disconnected, it is not possible to collect this data for traditional prepayment meters. One of the benefits of smart prepayment over traditional prepayment meters is the ability for energy suppliers to know when customers have gone off supply, and so offer timely support.
Ofgem hold data for Q1 – Q3 2022. The number of electricity smart meters in GB that disconnected at least once across this period are provided in the table below. Not all disconnections will be due to affordability issues.
Q1 2022 | 510,574 |
Q2 2022 | 660,135 |
Q3 2022 | 660,133 |