Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to include people living in properties with district or communal heating systems in Ofgem's review of the energy price cap.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Default Tariff Act requires Ofgem, as the gas and electricity markets regulator, to put licence conditions in place for a cap on domestic default gas and electricity tariffs. District or communal heating systems typically buy their energy through commercial contracts which are not covered by the Act.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
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 effect of energy price increases on the bills of people living in properties with district or communal heating systems.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Default Tariff Act requires Ofgem, as the gas and electricity markets regulator, to put licence conditions in place for a cap on domestic default gas and electricity tariffs. District or communal heating systems typically buy their energy through commercial contracts which are not covered by the Act.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of tenants on heat networks experience (a) per kWh tariffs and (b) standing charges for heat that are more than 1.5 times the capped price for gas.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
It is challenging to directly compare gas and heat network bills. This is because heat network bills tend to include additional system costs such as system maintenance, whereas these additional costs are typically paid by gas consumers through other means.
Whilst there is currently no requirement for heat networks owners or operators to formally report details on their pricing practices, studies have been carried out which provide useful insight into heat network pricing from a sample of the market, namely the 2017 Heat Networks Consumer Survey (HNCS) and the 2018 CMA heat networks market study (CMA).
Government is committed to implementing the Heat Networks Market Framework, which will introduce price transparency requirements on heat network operators. The future heat networks regulator will also have powers to protect consumers from disproportionately high pricing and monopoly power.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
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 customers of heat networks that pay for heat at more than double the price of fuel if using a gas boiler at prices governed by the cap on standard variable tariffs.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
It is challenging to directly compare gas and heat network bills. This is because heat network bills tend to include additional system costs such as system maintenance, whereas these additional costs are typically paid by gas consumers through other means.
Whilst there is currently no requirement for heat networks owners or operators to formally report details on their pricing practices, studies have been carried out which provide useful insight into heat network pricing from a sample of the market, namely the 2017 Heat Networks Consumer Survey (HNCS) and the 2018 CMA heat networks market study (CMA).
Government is committed to implementing the Heat Networks Market Framework, which will introduce price transparency requirements on heat network operators. The future heat networks regulator will also have powers to protect consumers from disproportionately high pricing and monopoly power.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
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 homes allocated to social housing under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 that are on heat networks where the social landlord has no mechanism for control in relation to performance, reliability and pricing.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
We do not hold data on the exact number of social homes under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 that are on a heat network. However, the results of the 2017 Heat Networks Consumer Survey (HNCS) found that heat network consumers were more likely to be renting from a housing association or local authority (32% and 34%) compared with the wider population (8% and 9%).
The ability for landlords to have control over the performance, reliability and pricing of a heat network will in part depend on the network’s delivery model. This is based on whether it is the leaseholder or the heat supplier who holds the right to use the network. The CMA heat networks study found that where the consumers have the right to use the network as part of their leaseholder or tenancy agreement, this provides them with more protection and control. In addition, leases can state that supply of heating and hot water is the responsibility of the landlord, and the Landlord and Tenant Act places requirements on landlords to maintain a property and its associated assets, such as heating. The CMA report found that the types of business models found in the heat networks market vary significantly.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will change the classification of travel agents to strand two of the restart grant in the context of ongoing restrictions being placed on international travel and the emergence of novel covid-19 variants in India.
Answered by Paul Scully
Travel agents are eligible for strand 1 of Restart Grants as they are classified as non-essential retail.
Strand 2 of Restart Grants is for hospitality, leisure, accommodation, personal care and gym & sport businesses, most of which will not fully reopen until step 3 of the Roadmap out of lockdown and which are likely to continue to be most significantly affected by social distancing rules, cleaning protocols and other measures in place to tackle Covid-19.
There are currently no plans to change the eligibility criteria for the Restart Grant scheme.