Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of increasing support for mobile home owners who do not have accounts with energy suppliers and who are ineligible for existing Government support under the Warm Home Discount Scheme, Home Upgrade Grant and Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government worked with Charis Grants to set up the Park Homes Warm Home Discount scheme seven years ago, which is open to mobile or park home residents who pay for their bills through pitch fees or to their site owner. The scheme is funded by energy suppliers through Warm Home Discount Industry Initiatives. Around £400,000 in funding was available for the Park Homes Warm Home Discount this year (2021/22), with over 2,600 park home residents across Great Britain receiving £140 towards their energy bills through the scheme.
Existing park homes are eligible for support under the Home Upgrade Grant and the Local Authority Delivery Scheme. Constituents should contact their local authority to make enquiries. Park home residents also benefit from energy efficiency measures under the Energy Company Obligation.
Park homes may also be eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme provided that the property has an Energy Performance Certificate with no outstanding recommendations for loft or cavity wall insulation. For full eligibility criteria, please refer to the draft regulations for the scheme.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the fire risk of Lithium-ion batteries when used as part of a Battery Energy Storage System, such as in large scale solar instillations.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Grid-scale lithium-ion battery energy storage systems are covered by a robust regulatory framework which requires manufacturers to ensure products are safe before they are placed on the market, that they are installed correctly, and that any safety issues found after products are on the market or after installations are dealt with.
In 2018, BEIS set up an industry-led Storage Health and Safety Governance Group responsible for ensuring that an appropriate, robust, and future-proofed health and safety framework is sustained as the industry develops.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support households living off grid that rely on heating oil in the context of rising heating oil prices.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The supply of heating oil is subject to UK competition law and consumer protection through a regulatory scheme under the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). If residents are off the gas grid, but on a default tariff for their electricity supply, they will still be protected by the Energy Price Cap which continues to protect 15 million households.
In the longer term, improving the energy efficiency of our homes and buildings is vital to keeping household energy costs down and reducing carbon emissions, which is why the Government is driving £6 billion into making homes more energy efficient over the next ten years.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
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 of the impact of (a) the proposed solar plant at Mallard Pass in Rutland and (b) other large scale solar plants on biodiversity.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Due to its proposed size (over 50MW), the Mallard Pass Solar Farm will be a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State will therefore be the decision-maker for the application for development consent for the Mallard Pass Solar Project.
The Government recognises that solar projects can affect the local environment. The developers of all large solar projects must complete an Environmental Impact Assessment Statement as part of their planning application, which will include an assessment of the impacts on biodiversity. Well-designed solar farms have been shown to enhance biodiversity.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support households living off the gas grid with rapidly rising gas prices.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Off-gas grid households who are on their electricity supplier’s default or standard variable tariffs are protected by the energy price cap. The price cap methodology used by Ofgem enables a separate rate to be set for households who heat their homes using electric storage heaters. Off-gas grid households will also receive £200 discount on their electricity bill this Autumn, as part of the Government’s package of support worth £9.1 billion to help domestic energy customers with the cost of rising energy bills.
Further support for energy bills is available to eligible households through the Warm Home Discount, the Winter Fuel Payment and the Cold Weather Payments.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
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 of the impact of (a) the proposed solar plant at Mallard Pass in Rutland and (b) other large scale solar plants on biodiversity.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Due to its proposed size (over 50MW) Mallard Pass solar farm will be a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. It is currently at the pre-application stage. When the application is ready it will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. The Inspectorate will evaluate whether the application meets the necessary legal requirements. If it does, the Inspectorate will undertake a formal examination of the project in which the public will be able to participate and then provide a report to the Secretary of State to inform his decision-making.
The Government recognises that in some cases solar farms can affect the local environment. Applicants must complete an Environmental Statement as part of their planning application, which will include an assessment of the impacts on biodiversity. Well-designed solar projects have been shown to enhance biodiversity.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that parents are aware of the provision in the Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Regulations laid on 23 January 2020.
Answered by Paul Scully
When we laid the Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Regulations in January, the policy received extensive coverage across broadcast, print and digital media. This announcement will have reached thousands of parents.
Ahead of Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay coming into force, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will publish guidance on GOV.UK to help parents and their employers to understand the new entitlement. We have ensured that employers are aware of Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay by including regular articles in the HM Revenue and Customs Employer Bulletin and Agent Update publications about this. We are also working closely with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) to reflect the introduction of the new entitlement in their employer support guidance. We will also continue to work closely with bereavement support organisations such as Cruse Bereavement Care, Child Bereavement UK and SANDS to ensure that they are able to support bereaved parents to use the new entitlement.