Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect the rights of P&O Ferries staff who were made redundant on 17 March.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has written to the Insolvency Service asking them to urgently undertake a thorough review into the actions of P&O Ferries. This will include any scope to take action against the company’s directors. While I do not wish to prejudge the outcome, and it is important due process is followed, we will not hesitate to take further action if appropriate to do so.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to support the hydrogen sector across the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Hydrogen Strategy reaffirms the Government’s aim to have 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity in the UK by 2030. In the strategy, the Government lays the foundations for a thriving hydrogen economy by 2030, setting out how the Government will support innovation and stimulate investment to rapidly scale up low carbon hydrogen production and use across the economy this decade.
The Government has announced that it will set up the Industrial Decarbonisation and Hydrogen Revenue Support scheme (IDHRS), which will support both electrolytic (‘green’) and CCUS enabled (‘blue’) low carbon hydrogen production. The Government will be providing up to £140 million to establish the scheme, including up to £100 million to award contracts of up to 250MW of electrolytic hydrogen production capacity in 2023 with further allocation in 2024. This means that 500MW of electrolytic hydrogen production projects will be operational or in construction by 2025. The Government will also announce the revenue envelope for CCUS-enabled hydrogen and industrial carbon capture in 2022, which will allow contracts, from 2023, to be awarded for up to 1GW of CCUS-enabled hydrogen.
In the coming months the Government will launch the £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, the first £100 million allocation round for electrolytic hydrogen projects and publish a sector roadmap with a focus on investment, in addition to a Sector Development Action Plan.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what further steps they will take to support solar energy across the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government’s Net Zero Strategy included a commitment to accelerate deployment of low-cost renewable generation, such as solar, across the UK in the 2020s and beyond.
The Government is providing ongoing support to large-scale solar projects across Great Britain in the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. The fourth CfD auction opened in December 2021 and will aim to deliver up to double the renewable capacity of the last round. Rooftop solar in Great Britain is supported through the Smart Export Guarantee scheme, which requires electricity suppliers to offer a tariff to buy electricity exported to the grid by small low-carbon generators, typically solar panels.
The Government is implementing around £170 million of business rates support in England for green technologies, including solar, to support decarbonising buildings. The Government also supports UK-based innovation in solar through various innovation schemes, including the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund, and is working with the solar industry to support development of the UK solar supply chain.
Energy policy is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what further steps they are taking to alleviate the impact of rising energy prices.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring that support is provided to help consumers deal with the impact of high wholesale energy costs. The Government is providing a package of support worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23 which includes a £150 Council Tax rebate for bands A-D, £144 million discretionary funding for local authorities and a £200 energy bill reduction which will help over 28 million households.
This is in addition to the support the Government will continue to provide through the Warm Home Discount Scheme, which this winter is providing over 2 million households with a £140 rebate off their energy bill. The Government has announced that it would be increasing to £150 and help an extra 780,000 households next winter. Further, Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments help ensure the most vulnerable are better able to heat their homes over the colder months.