Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has worked with the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government to assess the implications of insulation-related building damage on housing safety and standards.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to ensuring building work is done to the highest levels of quality and safety, be that in new builds, high rise or the home retrofit space such as Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme / Great British Insulation Scheme. The Department is working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Building Safety Regulator on reforms to the consumer protection system to improve accountability and support higher-quality installations including addressing the issues identified in the NAO report pertaining to the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when his Department was first made aware of systemic failings in (a) the Fishwick project in Preston and (b) other government-backed insulation schemes; and what steps have been taken to investigate and rectify those failures.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem was first made aware of concerns with insulation issues in Fishwick in 2013 and they engaged with the energy supplier responsible to secure remediation.
Since then, National Energy Action (NEA) have led remediation schemes to support residents but we understand that there are still homes needing remediation. DESNZ has been in contact with NEA.
ECO4 / GBIS non-compliance issues were alerted to DESNZ in October 2024. Since that date thousands of additional audits have taken place and any issues are being fixed. We have offered an audit to all homes fitted with EWI under these schemes.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the number of homes affected by defective insulation installed under government schemes between 2013 and 2021; and if he will commission a national audit of all such properties.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Data has not been collected regarding the specific number of houses affected by non-compliance, however failure rates from audits of individual measures has been collected for some schemes of which a summary is included in the NAO report.
For SWI installed under ECO4 and GBIS we have calculated the number of homes affected. We acknowledge that issues have emerged in other schemes, however this is not on the scale seen with EWI issues under ECO4 / GBIS. We have recent published results from audits on our housing association and local authority based schemes on gov.uk.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will publish (a) the 2019 government-commissioned report into the Fishwick external wall insulation scheme and (b) any other reports identifying widespread failure in similar government-backed schemes.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are aware of unresolved issues with external wall insulation in Fishwick under the Community Energy Savings Programme (a supplier obligation based scheme)
The Department will continue to update the House on energy efficiency schemes, including the publication of relevant analysis.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has been made of the potential impact of fireworks on people with (a) PTSD, (b) autism, and (c) sensory processing conditions; and if he will set out the steps his Department is taking on this matter.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that fireworks can cause distress for some people, including those with post-traumatic stress disorder, autism, and sensory processing conditions. Information and advice is available at the following two links:
https://combatstress.org.uk/tips-for-coping-during-fireworks
https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/news/our-top-tips-use-your-senses-for-an-autism-friendl
Further general advice related mental health can be found at the following three links:
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/where-to-get-urgent-help-for-mental-health/
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with (a) local authorities and (b) police forces in West Yorkshire on the prevalence of illegal or ghost number plates used to evade enforcement cameras.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Cloned and misrepresented plates are a serious problem which cause distress to innocent people and provide cover for criminals.
The Home Office and the Department for Transport are working closely with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), Trading Standards and local authorities to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has had recent discussions with West Yorkshire Police on tackling the use of ghost number plates in Bradford and the surrounding area.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Cloned and misrepresented plates are a serious problem which cause distress to innocent people and provide cover for criminals.
The Home Office and the Department for Transport are working closely with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), Trading Standards and local authorities to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to review the penalties for driving with a non-compliant or ghost number plate.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Cloned and misrepresented plates are a serious problem which cause distress to innocent people and provide cover for criminals.
The Home Office and the Department for Transport are working closely with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), Trading Standards and local authorities to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to encourage the use of (a) quieter (i) fireworks and (ii) drone shows and (b) other low-impact alternatives at public events.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government have launched a public campaign on fireworks safety for this year’s fireworks season which encourages the use of low noise fireworks. The campaign also features new guidance for those running community fireworks events which recommends the use of low-noise fireworks to reduce the impact on communities, as well as social media materials that emphasise the risks from the misuse of fireworks. The campaign materials are being shared widely to increase their impact.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of high-decibel fireworks on animal welfare; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a maximum noise limit for fireworks sold to the public.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No specific assessment has been made of the potential impact of high-decibel fireworks on animal welfare or the merits of reducing the permissible noise limits of fireworks used for public and private functions.
However, the Government is continuing to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities, including animal welfare stakeholders, to gather evidence on the issues with and impacts of fireworks to inform any future action.