Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he expects the Energy Efficiency Taskforce to publish a report by 20 July 2023.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Efficiency Taskforce is working through its ideas and a specific publication date for their action plan will follow. Progress is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/energy-efficiency-taskforce
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2023 to Question 186589, what steps he plans to take to set out that formal vision for the Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage sector.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government plans to engage with key stakeholders across the sectors of hydrogen, power, industry and greenhouse gas removals. The Government will use this engagement to help develop its vision for the CCUS sector in the 2030s and there are plans to set out the vision later this year.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy's publication entitled Facilitating the deployment of large-scale and long-duration electricity storage, published 3 August 2022, when his Department will announce the next steps it is taking to introduce large-scale, long-duration electricity storage by 2024; and whether this will be open to consultation.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As outlined in the Powering Up Britain and British Energy Security Strategy we will put in place an appropriate framework by 2024 to enable investment in large scale long duration electricity storage (LLES), with the goal of deploying sufficient storage capacity to balance the overall system. We are currently undertaking the next phase of policy development to assess what policy approach is best suited to enable investment in LLES projects and anticipate further consultation with stakeholders later this year.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to bring forward additional rounds for the Cluster Sequencing for Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage programme beyond the Track 1 and Track 2 processes.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has announced plans to expand Track-1 through the Track-1 expansion process and has commenced Track-2.
The Government recognises the importance of improving visibility for investors, and will set out a vision for the CCUS sector that will support the UK's net zero ambitions and raise investor confidence.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the cost to energy customers of (a) Bulb Energy Ltd being placed in special administration and (b) the takeover by Octopus Energy.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As per the recent NAO report, the latest estimate is that there will be an overall net cost of £240m: https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/investigation-into-bulb-energy/.
This estimate will be updated in due course once wholesale energy costs are fully reconciled.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to increase private investment into the heat networks industry from sources outside of existing Government schemes.
Answered by Graham Stuart
As acknowledged in the recent Green Finance Strategy, heat networks will require significant private sector finance to help deliver decarbonised heating. The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero is engaging with both the public and private sectors to encourage private investment into the market. This includes policies such as heat network zoning and market regulation to improve the investment environment for heat network investors, publicising the pipeline of heat network projects which currently stands at £2.2 billion, and working with the UK Investment Bank to encourage private sector funding into the development of local authority led heat networks.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when his Department plans to respond to the consultation entitled Designing a framework for transparency of carbon content in energy products: call for evidence, published on 16 August 2021.
Answered by Graham Stuart
As announced in December 2021, the Department’s work on carbon content in energy products was paused to prioritise activity related to the global increases in gas prices.
As described in the March 2023 Energy Security Plan, reform is now necessary so that the retail market drives the transition to a secure, low-cost and low-carbon energy system. A summer 2023 Call for Evidence will examine how the regulatory framework can help deliver this vision.
The Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) programme is also exploring reforms to ensure that Britain’s electricity (non-retail) market arrangements harness the benefits of cheap, abundant renewables.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2023 to Question 87713 on Individual Savings Accounts, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing the 25 per cent penalty on removing savings from Lifetime ISAs in the context of the affordability of housing for first time buyers where (a) the Lifetime ISA limit has remained at £450,000 and (b) house prices have increased 24 per cent between December 2016 and December 2021.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
LISA funds, including any government bonus, can be withdrawn for the purchase of a first home valued under £450,000, in the case of terminal illness or from age 60. Withdrawals for any other reason are subject to a 25% fee to recoups the government bonus and any interest or growth arising from it.
Data from the latest UK House Price Index demonstrates that the average price paid by first-time buyers is below the Lifetime ISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except for Inner London, where the average price paid is affected by Boroughs with very high property values. The Office for Budget Responsibility is also forecasting for house prices to fall by 9% by the end of 2024.
The Government keeps the operational aspects of the Lifetime ISA under review, as it does all aspects of the tax system, with any changes being announced at a fiscal event.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment his Department has made on the progress of the ECO4 rollout.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme has been one of the Government’s key domestic energy efficiency policies, improving 2.4 million homes since it began in 2013.
Since it commenced, ECO4 has seen the delivery of an estimated 43,600 measures as per the most recent published Household Energy Efficiency Statistics, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-statistics-headline-release-february-2023.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Green Gas Support Scheme beyond 2025.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) Mid-Scheme Review Consultation, published on 23 March 2023, sets out a proposal to extend the GGSS scheme to 31 March 2026, and seeks views on this. The Government expects this proposed extension to help address delays resulting from challenges securing waste, and to mitigate supply chain issues.