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Written Question
Housing: Electricity
Tuesday 23rd July 2019

Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)

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 on the cost effectiveness of installing three-phase electricity supplies in (a) new and (b) existing homes.

Answered by Chris Skidmore

Electricity connections and upgrades for new and existing homes are a matter for distribution network operators (DNOs) overseen by the independent regulator, Ofgem. Under the Distribution Connection and Use of System Agreement, DNOs are required to offer customers the most efficient solution to meet their requirements. In doing so, DNOs assess whether a single or three-phase supply would be appropriate.


Written Question
Housing: Electricity
Tuesday 23rd July 2019

Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)

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 on the feasibility on subsidising the cost of upgrading single-phase electricity suppliers to three-phase electricity suppliers to support people to make their homes carbon neutral.

Answered by Chris Skidmore

Network operators are responsible for ensuring the reliable supply of electricity and the Ofgem RIIO-2 price control framework ensures network operators invest efficiently to provide continued safe and reliable services. In doing so they will need to balance the expected reductions in demand due to improvements in home energy efficiency against projected increases in demand from charging requirements of electric vehicles and the increased installation of heat pumps.


Written Question
Post Offices: Rural Areas
Thursday 6th June 2019

Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to support rural post office branches.

Answered by Kelly Tolhurst

While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business.

The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. Thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010 the overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches.


Written Question
Social Services: Pay
Tuesday 11th September 2018

Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Court of Appeal judgment on Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake and Shannon v Rampersad made on 13 July 2018, what plans the Government has to bring forward legislative proposals of the pay rates for care workers on sleep-in shifts.

Answered by Kelly Tolhurst

The Court of Appeal judgment overturns the previous interpretation of the law and means that “sleep-in” shifts, as defined by the Court of Appeal, no longer attract the National Minimum Wage. The Court of Appeal judgment applies both retrospectively and going forward. Government guidance on when “sleep-in” shifts should attract the National Minimum Wage has been updated to confirm that the Government has noted the judgment. That guidance will be updated shortly once Ministers have fully considered the implications the Court of Appeal judgment.

Over the past year Ministers from across the Government have been working closely on how “sleep-in” shifts are remunerated and will continue to do so.

Ministers from BEIS and the Department of Health and Social Care are liaising with local authorities and care commissioners to ensure that they have clarity on the legal position and on their responsibilities when commissioning care services.

HMRC’s voluntary Social Care Compliance Scheme remains open. Employers participating on the scheme should take note of the Court of Appeal judgment and review their pay practices accordingly. HMRC officers have been in contact directly with all employers enrolled on the scheme to set out next steps.


Written Question
Social Services: Pay
Tuesday 11th September 2018

Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Court of Appeal judgment on Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake and Shannon v Rampersad made on 13 July 2018, what guidance the Government has issued on rates of pay for sleep in shifts to (a) local authorities and (b) care commissioners.

Answered by Kelly Tolhurst

The Court of Appeal judgment overturns the previous interpretation of the law and means that “sleep-in” shifts, as defined by the Court of Appeal, no longer attract the National Minimum Wage. The Court of Appeal judgment applies both retrospectively and going forward. Government guidance on when “sleep-in” shifts should attract the National Minimum Wage has been updated to confirm that the Government has noted the judgment. That guidance will be updated shortly once Ministers have fully considered the implications the Court of Appeal judgment.

Over the past year Ministers from across the Government have been working closely on how “sleep-in” shifts are remunerated and will continue to do so.

Ministers from BEIS and the Department of Health and Social Care are liaising with local authorities and care commissioners to ensure that they have clarity on the legal position and on their responsibilities when commissioning care services.

HMRC’s voluntary Social Care Compliance Scheme remains open. Employers participating on the scheme should take note of the Court of Appeal judgment and review their pay practices accordingly. HMRC officers have been in contact directly with all employers enrolled on the scheme to set out next steps.


Written Question
Social Services: Pay
Tuesday 11th September 2018

Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)

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 issue guidance on rates for sleep-in shifts; and what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of funding for local authorities to meet those rates.

Answered by Kelly Tolhurst

The Court of Appeal judgment overturns the previous interpretation of the law and means that “sleep-in” shifts, as defined by the Court of Appeal, no longer attract the National Minimum Wage. The Court of Appeal judgment applies both retrospectively and going forward. Government guidance on when “sleep-in” shifts should attract the National Minimum Wage has been updated to confirm that the Government has noted the judgment. That guidance will be updated shortly once Ministers have fully considered the implications the Court of Appeal judgment.

Over the past year Ministers from across the Government have been working closely on how “sleep-in” shifts are remunerated and will continue to do so.

Ministers from BEIS and the Department of Health and Social Care are liaising with local authorities and care commissioners to ensure that they have clarity on the legal position and on their responsibilities when commissioning care services.

HMRC’s voluntary Social Care Compliance Scheme remains open. Employers participating on the scheme should take note of the Court of Appeal judgment and review their pay practices accordingly. HMRC officers have been in contact directly with all employers enrolled on the scheme to set out next steps.


Written Question
Social Services: Pay
Tuesday 11th September 2018

Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the (a) status and (b) liability for care providers that enrolled in HMRC’s Social Care Compliance Scheme.

Answered by Kelly Tolhurst

The Court of Appeal judgment overturns the previous interpretation of the law and means that “sleep-in” shifts, as defined by the Court of Appeal, no longer attract the National Minimum Wage. The Court of Appeal judgment applies both retrospectively and going forward. Government guidance on when “sleep-in” shifts should attract the National Minimum Wage has been updated to confirm that the Government has noted the judgment. That guidance will be updated shortly once Ministers have fully considered the implications the Court of Appeal judgment.

Over the past year Ministers from across the Government have been working closely on how “sleep-in” shifts are remunerated and will continue to do so.

Ministers from BEIS and the Department of Health and Social Care are liaising with local authorities and care commissioners to ensure that they have clarity on the legal position and on their responsibilities when commissioning care services.

HMRC’s voluntary Social Care Compliance Scheme remains open. Employers participating on the scheme should take note of the Court of Appeal judgment and review their pay practices accordingly. HMRC officers have been in contact directly with all employers enrolled on the scheme to set out next steps.


Written Question
Social Services: Living Wage
Tuesday 11th September 2018

Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Court of Appeal judgment on Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake and Shannon v Rampersad made on 13 July 2018, what plans the Government has to bring forward proposals to ensure that overnight care is subject to the National Living Wage.

Answered by Kelly Tolhurst

The Court of Appeal judgment overturns the previous interpretation of the law and means that “sleep-in” shifts, as defined by the Court of Appeal, no longer attract the National Minimum Wage. The Court of Appeal judgment applies both retrospectively and going forward. Government guidance on when “sleep-in” shifts should attract the National Minimum Wage has been updated to confirm that the Government has noted the judgment. That guidance will be updated shortly once Ministers have fully considered the implications the Court of Appeal judgment.

Over the past year Ministers from across the Government have been working closely on how “sleep-in” shifts are remunerated and will continue to do so.

Ministers from BEIS and the Department of Health and Social Care are liaising with local authorities and care commissioners to ensure that they have clarity on the legal position and on their responsibilities when commissioning care services.

HMRC’s voluntary Social Care Compliance Scheme remains open. Employers participating on the scheme should take note of the Court of Appeal judgment and review their pay practices accordingly. HMRC officers have been in contact directly with all employers enrolled on the scheme to set out next steps.


Written Question
Fracking: Methane
Tuesday 24th April 2018

Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Implementation Unit Report on Shale Gas, what estimate the Government has made of the amount of unintended methane emissions at the projected (a) 17 sites by 2020, (b) 30 to 35 sites by 2022 and (c) 155 sites by 2025.

Answered by Claire Perry

Both the 2013 report, ‘Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated with Shale Gas Extraction and Use’[1] (Mackay/Stone) and the Committee on Climate Change’s (CCC) 2016 report ‘Onshore Petroleum: The compatibility of UK onshore petroleum with meeting the UK’s carbon budgets’[2] provided analysis on the potential implications of greenhouse gas emissions from extracting shale gas in the UK.

The Mackay/Stone report concluded that the carbon footprint of UK shale gas would likely be much less than coal and comparable to imported Liquefied Natural Gas.

The CCC report concluded that shale gas production is compatible with carbon budgets if three conditions are met:

Methane emissions from shale gas production minimised and monitored.

Gas consumption remains within carbon budget limits

Any additional shale gas emissions offset by reductions elsewhere in order to meet carbon budgets

We believe that our robust regulatory regime and determination to meet our carbon budgets mean those tests can and will be met.

The Government is grant funding an environmental monitoring programme led by the British Geological Survey in the Fylde (Lancashire) and Kirby Misperton (North Yorkshire), where applications for shale gas wells have been made. This programme includes the measurement of methane emissions, and would continue after the start of shale gas extraction. The evidence gathered from this programme will inform our future estimates of unintended methane emissions from potential shale gas extraction.

During any shale gas operations the operator will be required to undertake environmental monitoring, including emissions monitoring, to demonstrate compliance with their environmental permits.

Clauses in the Infrastructure Act make it clear that any hydraulic fracturing activity cannot take place unless appropriate arrangements have been made for monitoring emissions of methane into the air. Operators will also be required to publish the results of their methane emissions reporting.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/237330/MacKay_Stone_shale_study_report_09092013.pdf

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/committee-on-climate-change-report-and-government-response-on-the-compatibility-of-uk-onshore-petroleum-with-meeting-the-uks-carbon-budgets


Written Question
Fracking
Friday 2nd March 2018

Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Implementation Unit Report on Shale Gas, what estimate the Government has made of the potential effect on employment of the projected (a) 17 sites by 2020, (b) 30-35 sites by 2022 and (c) 155 sites by 2025.

Answered by Claire Perry

BEIS has not made any estimates of the potential effect on employment from the future development of the shale gas industry.