Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the feasibility of the target to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Heat and Buildings Strategy set out the range of policies that will combine to support the development of the heat pump market towards 600,000 per year by 2028.
This package includes: the Future Homes Standard, which will ensure that new homes are built zero carbon-ready without the need for costly retrofitting; targeted funding support, through the £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the Home Upgrade Grant and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund; and proposals currently out to consultation for a new market-based incentive, to be introduced from 2024, and to phase out new fossil fuel heating systems in off-gas grid buildings, starting with larger non-domestic buildings from 2024 and smaller buildings and homes from 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure effective cross-departmental working towards the decarbonisation of the built environment in the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The recently published Heat and Buildings Strategy brings together work from across Government on energy efficiency and clean heat, delivering a consistent and coherent approach across different markets, buildings and occupancy types. The Government has taken action to ensure that decision-making across government is aligned to deliver net zero, including establishing two Cabinet Committees, chaired by my Rt. Hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the COP President, to co-ordinate action across government, strengthening official-level governance, and taking new approaches to embed net zero in spending decisions.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the feasibility of their target of reducing the cost of heat pumps by between a quarter and a half by 2025, as set out in the Heat and Buildings Strategy, published on 19 October.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The policies announced in the Heat and Buildings Strategy combine targeted funding to kickstart market growth, with incentives and regulations to provide long-term policy clarity for industry. We expect these measures will rapidly drive down costs, in line with the Government’s ambitions to reduce the upfront costs of heat pumps by between a quarter and a half by 2025. We are encouraged that so many across the sector have already pledged to significantly reduce costs.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the feasibility of their target set out in the Heat and Buildings Strategy for heat pumps to cost the same (1) to buy, and (2) to run, as fossil fuel boilers in 2030.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Alongside leading figures in industry and many suppliers, we are confident that the costs of heat pumps can reduce by 25-50% by 2025 and have set an ambition to work with industry to achieve further reductions towards overall cost parity with gas boilers by 2030 at the latest. The policies we are introducing, including a new £450m Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the Future Homes Standard, and a new market mechanism in the heating appliance market, will rapidly scale up the market to help deliver cost reductions.
We remain committed to working with industry to keep costs down and making sure energy prices are fair and affordable and incentivise consumers to make sustainable choices. We will launch a Fairness and Affordability Call for Evidence on options to help rebalance electricity and gas prices with a view to taking decisions in 2022.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when in 2022 they expect to publish their hydrogen production strategy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As set out in the UK Hydrogen Strategy, the Government intends to provide further detail on its hydrogen production strategy in early 2022.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how long industry would need to adjust to a requirement to use hydrogen in the heating of buildings.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government plans to take decisions in 2026 on the role of hydrogen in heating buildings. In order to inform these decisions, the Government is working with industry and others on a range of projects that will help to assess the feasibility and impacts of using hydrogen in place of natural gas and the timescales required for industry to adjust.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to bring forward their decision on the role of hydrogen in heating buildings from the current date of 2026.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government plans to take decisions in 2026 on the role of hydrogen in heating buildings. In order to inform these decisions, the Government is working with industry and others on a range of projects that will help to assess the feasibility and impacts of using hydrogen in place of natural gas and the timescales required for industry to adjust.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Northern Ireland Executive regarding the use of renewable energy in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is working closely with Northern Ireland’s Department for the Economy and is committed to exploring options for Northern Ireland to join the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme – the UK’s main support mechanism for large-scale renewable generation. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State also recently met with the Northern Ireland Assembly's Minister for the Economy Gordon Lyons where, amongst other issues, there was a discussion around Northern Ireland and the CfD scheme. Current work is considering a range of issues, including impacts on consumer bills and wider implications for how the scheme operates currently in Great Britain.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the energy efficiency of homes through retrofitting.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government remains committed to its manifesto pledge to invest £9.2 billion in the energy efficiency of homes, schools, and hospitals, helping to decarbonising buildings to keep us on track to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
In addition, the Energy Company Obligation has already installed 3.3 million measures in 2.3 million homes, and we are increasing the amount energy suppliers invest in energy efficiency measures for low-income households, recently consulted on a successor scheme ECO until 2026, and boosting its value from £640 million to £1 billion a year. This will help an extra 305,000 families with green measures such as insulation, with average energy bill savings of around £300 a year.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the ability of Trading Standards to pursue sellers of toys not in compliance with UK safety regulations.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to ensuring that only safe products can be sold in the UK and existing laws require that all consumer products, including toys sold online, must be safe before they can be placed on the UK market.
The national product safety regulator, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), and Local Authority Trading Standards have powers to take action against manufacturers, importers or distributors who sell unsafe and non-compliant toys, including through online marketplaces. These regulators have access to a national Product Safety Database to share information and to help prioritise and target activity.
The Government recognises the scale of the challenge in regulating online sales and OPSS is taking forward a programme of work to help ensure the safety of products sold online. This includes actively identifying products available online that pose a serious risk and ensuring that non-compliant products being sold by third-party sellers are removed from sale. Since April 2021, OPSS interventions have led to the withdrawal of more than 10,000 unsafe products, including toys, previously listed and available in the UK, via online marketplaces.
The Government’s review of the UK’s product safety framework aims to ensure it remains robust and is future-proofed so that it continues to protect consumers while enabling businesses to safely innovate and grow. This includes reviewing the impact of eCommerce on the product safety framework to ensure appropriate accountability and clear responsibilities throughout the supply chain.
The Government has analysed submissions to the Call for Evidence and is currently finalising its response which will be published in due course. OPSS officials continue to engage with stakeholders as the review progresses and any proposals for legislative change would be subject to public consultation.