Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has calculated the social costs linked to pollutants emitted from biomass boilers supported by the Renewable Heat Incentive in (a) urban areas and (b) rural areas.
Answered by Claire Perry
In the February 2018 Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Impact Assessment, Government estimated the social costs and benefits from carbon savings and air quality impacts for biomass boilers supported under the RHI. The discounted lifetime value of carbon savings and air quality impacts from RHI biomass boilers is shown below. This demonstrates a positive impact, and therefore the social benefit of biomass on the scheme across GB.
Carbon savings (traded and non-traded) | +£2,860m |
Air quality benefits | +£550m |
Total | +£3,410m |
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has calculated the social costs linked to pollutants emitted from biomass boilers supported by the Renewable Heat Incentive since that scheme began in 2013.
Answered by Claire Perry
In the February 2018 Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Impact Assessment, Government estimated the social costs and benefits from carbon savings and air quality impacts for biomass boilers supported under the RHI. The discounted lifetime value of carbon savings and air quality impacts from RHI biomass boilers is shown below. This demonstrates a positive impact, and therefore the social benefit of biomass on the scheme across GB.
Carbon savings (traded and non-traded) | +£2,860m |
Air quality benefits | +£550m |
Total | +£3,410m |
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the capacity of English sea ports to facilitate international trade after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Chris Grayling
The UK ports sector is in an excellent position to facilitate growth in trade, both from the EU and from other countries, after we leave the EU. Several ports have invested strongly in capacity, to handle the largest container ships in global fleets and to adapt to changing patterns of energy generation. We will also see new investment proceeding at other ports such as at Dover Western Docks.
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
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 effect of the use of biomass boilers supported financially by the (a) domestic and (b) non-domestic renewable heat incentive on (i) air quality and (ii) levels of (A) morbidity and (B) mortality in (1) urban and (2) rural areas.
Answered by Claire Perry
Biomass Boilers supported under the RHI scheme must meet strict air quality and feedstock sustainability rules. The air quality requirements ensure applicants for both RHI schemes with a biomass boiler (including CHP) will need to have emissions levels no higher than 30 grams per gigajoule (g/GJ) net heat input for particulate matter (PM) and 150g/GJ for oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which are the two main pollutants. Currently no data is available on levels of morbidity and mortality.
We are currently consulting on making new biomass installations in urban areas ineligible for the RHI. The consultation also contains an assessment of the impacts of this policy change. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/renewable-heat-incentive-biomass-combustion-in-urban-areas
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
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 effect of the use of biomass boilers supported financially by the (a) domestic and (b) non-domestic renewable heat incentive on (i) air quality and (ii) levels of (A) particulate emissions, (B) morbidity and (C) mortality.
Answered by Claire Perry
Biomass Boilers supported under the RHI scheme must meet strict air quality and feedstock sustainability rules. The air quality requirements ensure applicants for both RHI schemes with a biomass boiler (including CHP) will need to have emissions levels no higher than 30 grams per gigajoule (g/GJ) net heat input for particulate matter (PM) and 150g/GJ for oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which are the two main pollutants. Currently no data is available on levels of morbidity and mortality.
We are currently consulting on making new biomass installations in urban areas ineligible for the RHI. The consultation also contains an assessment of the impacts of this policy change. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/renewable-heat-incentive-biomass-combustion-in-urban-areas
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much (a) PM2.5, (b) ammonia, (c) nitrogen oxides, (d) sulphur dioxide, (e) benzene, (f) formaldhyde, (g) acrolein and (h) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is emitted annually by sources supported financially by the (i) domestic and (ii) non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive.
Answered by Claire Perry
Government recognises the scale of the challenge on national air quality. That’s why DEFRA will be publishing a Clean Air Strategy in 2018. The Government’s long-term strategy is to see households move away from polluting fuels towards cleaner technologies.
Technologies supported by the Renewable Heat Incentive must meet strict air quality rules. Biomass boilers are likely to replace oil boilers, reducing pollutants overall as a result. Work is ongoing to assess the air quality impact of the RHI scheme, and this will feed into future policymaking.
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of upgrading to a smart motorway the M56 adjacent to junctions six and seven; and what assessment he has made of the effect of upgrading that stretch of motorway on (a) safety and (b) journey times.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The latest estimate for the cost of the M56 junction 6-8 smart motorway scheme is between £62m - £120m.
The economic assessment for this scheme indicates that it will lead to an overall reduction in collisions and casualties on the network over the 60 year appraisal period. Traffic modelling indicates that the scheme will divert vehicles from the surrounding road network, releasing the pressure on that network. This will improve journey time reliability and contribute to a reduction in the number of people killed and seriously injured (KSIs) on the road network as a whole.
This scheme is also expected to deliver journey time savings in both directions.
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Energy Performance of Building Directive, when his Department plans to publish its 2018 report on cost-optimal minimum energy performance requirements.
Answered by Dominic Raab
The Department plans to submit its 2018 report on cost-optimal minimum energy performance requirements to the European Commission shortly. The European Commission will then publish this report.
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timetable is for the publication of the analysis of the UK’s off-grid housing stock deemed suitable for using heat pumps as referenced in the Future Framework for Heat in Buildings consultation.
Answered by Claire Perry
We have been carrying out analysis to get a better understanding of the off grid housing stock using current available evidence and data from the English Housing Survey and the devolved equivalents. The analysis aims to understand the proportion of off gas grid homes in which heat pumps could provide sufficient levels of comfort. It will form the basis of further research and analysis later this year, which we intend to publish once complete.
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2017 to Question 117247, on NHS: Per Capita Costs, what per capita expenditure on the NHS was at 2010 prices in each region of England in each of the last seven years.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The information requested is not held.