Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the impact of increased electricity prices on all electric homes.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is monitoring the significant increases in wholesale energy prices closely, and meeting regularly with Ofgem, suppliers and consumer groups to understand the future impact on consumers as well as to discuss potential mitigations.
The Government is committed to protecting energy customers, especially the most vulnerable. The Government has announced a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23. This includes a £200 discount on their energy bill this Autumn for domestic electricity customers in Great Britain. This will be paid back automatically over the next 5 years. There will be a £150 non-repayable rebate in Council Tax bills for all households in Bands A-D in England. Additionally, the Government announced £144 million of discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support households who need support but are not eligible for the Council Tax rebate.
The Energy Price Cap will continue to protect consumers, ensuring they pay a fair price for their energy this winter. Low income and fuel poor households will continue to be supported with their energy bills through the Warm Home Discount, which provides eligible households with a £140 discount. Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments will ensure that the most vulnerable are better able to heat their homes through the winter. The £500 million Household Support Fund will support vulnerable households with essentials over the coming months.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to launch a public consultation on the potential impacts of mandating hydrogen-ready boilers.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In the Heat and Building Strategy, the Government committed to consulting shortly on the case for enabling, or requiring, new gas boilers to be readily convertible to hydrogen (‘hydrogen-ready’) by 2026, to prepare homes for a potential hydrogen conversion.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of conducting multiple hydrogen village trials by 2025 to better inform a policy decision on hydrogen for heating buildings by 2026.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer the Hon. Member to answer I gave my Hon. Friend the Member for Rother Valley on 10th December 2021 to Question 86217.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of blending 20 per cent hydrogen into the national grid by 2023.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is working with the Health and Safety Executive, Ofgem and industry to understand safety, operability and value for money for blending hydrogen into the grid, including following emerging evidence from industry trials such as HyDeploy. The Government will make a decision once there is sufficient evidence on both technical safety and financial viability. The Government will be prioritising the economic assessment of hydrogen blending and will make a decision at the end of 2023 at the earliest.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that a decision on blending 20 per cent hydrogen into the gas grid is delivered by 2023 at the latest.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is working with the Health and Safety Executive, Ofgem and industry to understand safety, operability and value for money for blending hydrogen into the grid, including following emerging evidence from industry trials such as HyDeploy. The Government will make a decision once there is sufficient evidence on both technical safety and financial viability. The Government will be prioritising the economic assessment of hydrogen blending and will make a decision at the end of 2023 at the earliest.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he expects the Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard to be published.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government consultation on a Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard closed on 25 October. The Government intends to publish its response, confirming the design of the standard, in early 2022.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what consideration he has given to placing all hydrogen production projects under Track-1 of the Cluster Sequencing Process.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Cluster Sequencing process will bring forward the UK’s first full-chain carbon capture and storage proposals. The Track-1 decision has identified the HyNet and East Coast Cluster proposals as those with the potential to pioneer this technology in the UK, including through the deployment of CCS-enabled low carbon hydrogen capacity. Phase-2 of this process, which opened in November, focuses on individual projects. It is open to submissions from any hydrogen production project based in the UK provided they can demonstrate they have a CO2 transport solution, access to a Track-1 or reserve cluster CO2 store and meet the eligibility criteria.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to finalise hydrogen business models; and when he plans to publish those models.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Alongside its world-leading Hydrogen Strategy, the Government has consulted on a business model to provide revenue support to low carbon hydrogen production plants. Revenue support is needed to close the cost gap, between producing low carbon hydrogen and counterfactual higher carbon fuels, to unlock investment in hydrogen projects.
The Government is analysing stakeholder responses to the consultation and aims to publish the Government response in Q1 2022, alongside indicative Heads of Terms for the business model contract. The Government aims to finalise the business model in 2022.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Civil Aviation Authority has participated in the investigation into CHC’s takeover of Babcock International’s offshore oil and gas crew transportation service which was launched by the Competition and Markets Authority in March 2021.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is responsible for assessing the risks and benefits of mergers and acquisitions in relation to competition in the UK, is a non-ministerial department which works independently from BEIS.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Competition and Markets Authority plans to reach a decision on whether to launch a phase two investigation of CHC’s takeover of Babcock International’s offshore oil and gas crew transportation services.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is responsible for assessing the risks and benefits of mergers and acquisitions in relation to competition in the UK, is a non-ministerial department which works independently from BEIS.