Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with manufacturers on energy costs for businesses.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Government is committed to minimising energy costs for businesses to ensure our economy remains strong and competitive. Details of meetings held by Ministers in the Department are recorded in our transparency data, which is published at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of off-gas grid households affected by fuel poverty.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The number of fuel poor households not connected to the gas grid in England, in the latest available year (2018), was 495,000, as seen in table 10 of the Fuel Poverty statistics detailed tables (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fuel-poverty-detailed-tables-2020).
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to limit repairs being carried out to existing oil boilers.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
In the 2017 Clean Growth Strategy the government committed to phasing out the installation of high carbon fossil fuel heating systems in buildings off the gas grid during the 2020s. As we develop policy to deliver this commitment we are engaging with industry to consider how we can best ensure that oil boilers are replaced with low carbon heating systems, rather than being repaired endlessly, so that we can meet our net zero obligations. We are considering the extent to which Building Regulations can help drive this change and we will consult on proposals for decarbonising off gas grid buildings in due course.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his officials have had with industry representatives on limiting repairs being carried out to existing oil boilers.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
In the 2017 Clean Growth Strategy the government committed to phasing out the installation of high carbon fossil fuel heating systems in buildings off the gas grid during the 2020s. As we develop policy to deliver this commitment we are engaging with industry to consider how we can best ensure that oil boilers are replaced with low carbon heating systems, rather than being repaired endlessly, so that we can meet our net zero obligations. We are considering the extent to which Building Regulations can help drive this change and we will consult on proposals for decarbonising off gas grid buildings in due course.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to use future Building Regulations to prevent end-of-life oil boilers being replaced by condensing oil boilers.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
In the 2017 Clean Growth Strategy the government committed to phasing out the installation of high carbon fossil fuel heating systems in buildings off the gas grid during the 2020s. As we develop policy to deliver this commitment we are engaging with industry to consider how we can best ensure that oil boilers are replaced with low carbon heating systems, rather than being repaired endlessly, so that we can meet our net zero obligations. We are considering the extent to which Building Regulations can help drive this change and we will consult on proposals for decarbonising off gas grid buildings in due course.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) oil and (b) LPG Aga appliances that are fitted in UK homes.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
There are 1.9m households in the UK using oil and LPG as their main heating fuel and hot water requirements. We estimate that 1.7m use Oil and 220k use LPG.
The Department does not have information on the number of (a) oil and (b) LPG Aga appliances that are fitted in UK homes.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of households within £100 of being classed as fuel poor.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The number of households currently classed as fuel poor for whom a reduction of £100 in their modelled fuel costs would remove them from being classed as fuel poor, in the latest available year, was 703,000.
The number of households currently not classed as fuel poor for whom an increase of £100 in their modelled fuel costs would classify them as fuel poor, in the latest available year, was 919,000.
These figures are based on the 2018 fuel poverty dataset that is derived based on the English Housing Survey.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number of UK households that use (a) oil and (b) LPG for their heating and hot water requirements.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
There are 1.9m households in the UK using oil and LPG as their main heating fuel and hot water requirements. We estimate that 1.7m use Oil and 220k use LPG.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number of UK non-domestic properties that use (a) oil and (b) LPG for their space heating and hot water requirements.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Department estimates that approximately 5%, by floor area, of the 1.8m non-domestic properties in England and Wales use oil or liquid petroleum gas (LPG) for space heating and hot water (4% oil, 1% LPG). This is based on the Business Energy Efficiency Survey (published 2016) which covers England and Wales. We do not have sufficient data to make this assessment for non-domestic properties in Scotland and Northern Ireland where heat policy is mostly devolved. The Department is continuing to build its evidence base for non-domestic buildings.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the average cost for homes off the gas grid to move from EPC band (a) E, (b) F and (c) G to band C; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The most complete modelling of these costs we have is for households who were on low-incomes in 2018. This is based on the English Housing Survey. Due to small samples, the estimate for band F and G have been combined.
The modelled costs of improving the average home which is off the gas grid to band C are:
From band E | £12,300 |
From band F & G | £18,900 |