Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 proportion of (a) external and (b) internal insulation installations completed under Government energy efficiency schemes that require remediation in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government commissioned an independent statistical audit, however this sample was designed to estimate the overall rates of non-compliance across Great Britain. The samples are not large enough to reliably perform any regional analysis. As we continue with further audits, we will seek to begin to collect this data.
The statistical audit was commissioned by Ofgem in April 2025. Two random samples of audits of external (EWI) and internal wall installations (IWI), across the household populations of both schemes were commissioned to understand non‑compliance rates.
98% of EWI audits need to be remediated. For IWI, that number is 29%.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of Government energy efficiency schemes in reducing fuel poverty in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The fuel poverty rate in Surrey Heath constituency in 2023 was estimated to be 7.1% of households.
Tackling fuel poverty is a priority for this Government. We are committed to publishing a new fuel poverty strategy for England which will ensure that many more fuel poor households achieve affordable warmth by 2030, alongside our Warm Homes Plan.
In March we allocated around £1.8 billion to local authorities and social housing providers through the Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund to help upgrade homes and to tackle fuel poverty. Support for home upgrades is also available via the Energy Company Obligation.
Financial support is available through the Warm Home Discount which has been expanded for this winter increasing the total number of households that are estimated to receive the discount from 3.2 million to around 6 million.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) internal and (b) external insulation installed under Government energy efficiency schemes are fitted to a high standard in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Companies installing insulation under the Government’s energy efficiency schemes must be registered with Trustmark and carry out work to the PAS2035 standard.
We have improved the quality assurance and consumer protection systems since identifying the issues with solid wall insulation under ECO4 and GBIS.
We will be offering a comprehensive on-site audit to all households that received external wall insulation under ECO4 and GBIS and any issues will be fixed at no cost to the householder.
TrustMark and certification bodies can suspend companies who do not meet the expected standards, and will continue to enforce the robust, published reinstatement policy.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing support to solar cooperatives in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Local communities must be at the centre of local project development and directly benefit from clean energy projects.
GBE, in support of the Local Power Plan, will enhance support for local and community energy by providing funding, capacity and capability support at all stages of project development, driving the growth of the local and community energy sector.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of extending minimum EPC rating requirements to short-term holiday lets on small accommodation providers.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government recently consulted on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation included proposals for rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030. We have sought views on whether short-term lets should be included in the scope of our changes, to help ensure a consistent standard across all private rented properties. We have engaged widely with stakeholders, including self-catering businesses, on our proposals. A government response will be published in due course.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of consumer protections on (a) extended and (b) repeated electricity supply interruptions.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
To help protect customers, Ofgem sets Quality-of-Service Guaranteed Standards that must be met by each DNO, these include supply restoration standards.
DNOs are directly incentivised by Ofgem to reduce customer interruptions and to invest in and maintain infrastructure to guarantee minimum standards of service.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that compensation arrangements for prolonged power outages are (a) fair, (b) transparent and (c) reflect the impact on affected households in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
All customers are entitled to compensation if distribution companies fail to meet Ofgem’s Quality-of-Service Guaranteed Standards. Ofgem clearly outlines the eligibility criteria for compensation on its website and will take action if companies do not meet their obligations in regard to delivering compensation.
Ofgem regularly review and update their compensation arrangements. The most recent changes were made following the Storm Arwen Review which came into effect on 1 September 2023 and enable higher levels of compensation at more regular intervals.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing consumers with access to information on (a) historical and (b) real-time electricity supply interruptions in Surrey.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Access to real time information during power disruptions is essential for situational awareness at a national and local level. All Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) offer power outage information on their websites and have made significant improvements in customer communications, following the Storm Arwen review in 2022 with requirements to report on response times during outages.
Customers can access information on any disruptions by contacting their network operator by dialling 105 or alternatively visiting: https://www.powercut105.com/findoperator.
DNOs, per their license obligations, report their annual performance for customer interruptions to Ofgem each year. This information is published in Ofgem's RIIO-1 Electricity Distribution Annual Report.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help create new jobs in the renewable energy sector in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Meeting the UK’s Clean Energy Superpower Mission is vital to enhancing our economic and energy security whilst driving economic growth across the country, including Surrey Heath.
In 2023, there were up to 468,000 full time equivalent employees (FTEs) working either directly in the UK low carbon and renewable economy or indirectly in the wider supply chain.
Government will be publishing its first Clean Energy Workforce Strategy in due course. This strategy will set out further actions to ensure that the workforce needed for clean energy delivery is in place, and that the jobs created across the country are high-quality, inclusive, and long-term. This will include regional analysis.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of solar power infrastructure in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Solar is at the heart of the Government’s clean energy mission, and we are taking steps to support rapid deployment.
In green-belt areas like Surrey Heath, solar infrastructure is more likely to be found on rooftops than in fields. Permitted development rights mean that the vast majority of rooftop projects no longer require an application for planning permission. New building standards will ensure that most new houses will be built with solar panels. We recently conducted a call for evidence about solar canopies in car parks. £13.2bn has been allocated to the Warm Homes Plan, to help people with the upfront costs of energy efficiency improvements, such as rooftop solar.