Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he is taking steps to prevent landlords from raising rents after using grants and loans in the Warm Homes plan to fund energy efficiency measures.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Warm Homes Plan will lift up to one million households out of fuel poverty through public investment and new minimum energy efficiency standards for private landlords and proposed standard for social landlords. These changes do not require landlords to increase rents. Instead, they will help tenants cut their energy bills by delivering more energy efficient homes.
There is support available for landlords, financing options, as well as new protections for renters in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 to challenge above-market rent increases. As now, landlords will still be able to increase rents to market price for their properties and an independent tribunal will make a judgement on this, if needed.
Landlords will have discretion between meeting the heating system standard and the smart readiness standard so that they can choose what is most appropriate for their property.
We estimate the new private rented sector MEES could lift approximately 415,000 households out of fuel poverty by 2030. A cost cap of £10,000, compared to £15,000, reduces the risk of cost pass through to tenants whilst still delivering substantial improvements to homes.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what consideration his Department has given to aligning the UK’s net zero policies with commitments to communities impacted by historical UK-linked emissions.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, published on 29 October, sets out how the UK will continue to reduce emissions in line with the landmark 2008 Climate Change Act. In the UK, the Government’s approach to the transition is built on the principle of fairness – for households by ensuring energy security and protecting billpayers, and for workers by ensuring decarbonisation is a route to reindustrialisation. The UK is committed to working with other countries and groups across the world to maintain momentum on climate change, and also to ensure that workers and communities globally benefit from the economic transition to net zero.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure the revised sixth carbon budget plan reduces economic inequality and poverty.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy
Decarbonising the UK economy and scaling up clean energy industries brings an opportunity to reduce regional inequalities by creating new, high skill jobs in our industrial heartlands. Delivering net zero also means improving the energy performance of homes – the support provided through the Warm Homes Plan helps tackle fuel poverty and supports those struggling most with their energy bills. The Government considers the impact on inequality of each policy in our plans through Public Sector Equality Duty assessments. We will also deliver an updated plan that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 in due course.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 3 March 2025 to Question 32098 on Nuclear Power, what estimate he has made of the proportion of clean electricity generated by nuclear energy by 2030.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As set out in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, nuclear is estimated to have an installed capacity range of between 3 – 4 GW in 2030.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 emissions reduction potential of nuclear energy for the Clean Power 2030 plan.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As set out in the Clean Power Action Plan, electricity generated by renewables and nuclear power will form the backbone of a clean electricity system by 2030, supported by low carbon flexible sources of power. EDF has announced extensions to four of its existing nuclear plants, with Heysham 2 and Torness now due to generate until 2030. Hinkley Point C, the first nuclear plant under construction in the UK in a generation, is expected to see its first unit come online between 2029-2031.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate the Government has made of the cost of nuclear energy relative to renewable sources of power.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The latest published cost and technical assumptions for power technologies, including renewables and nuclear, can be found in the published Generation Costs series. [1]
Renewables and nuclear play different roles in a decarbonising system and full power sector modelling evaluates costs at the system level. For example, analysis of many power sector scenarios [2] indicates that a cost-effective system requires a mix of technologies.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-generation-cost-projections#2023
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/modelling-2050-electricity-system-analysis
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 number of small modular reactors needed to power AI data centres across Britain.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government continues to assess future energy requirements, including the potential impact of powering datacentres. Consumption from datacentres has been forecast by NESO to increase and require an uninterrupted supply of electricity. The Government is committed to nuclear playing an important role in generating low carbon power and contributing to UK energy security. Alongside large-scale plants, such as Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C, SMRs have the potential to supply the grid or to be a dedicated energy source for datacentres.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Government plans to subsidise the building of small modular reactors.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Nuclear (GBN) is driving forward its SMR Technology Selection Process for UK deployment. This is a live, ongoing procurement based on fairness and transparency, and it is important GBN can deliver value for the British taxpayer.
Funding and financing arrangements for SMRs remain under consideration, with no decisions taken yet.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 cost of small-scale nuclear production relative to larger plants.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is clear that nuclear power, including small modular reactors (SMRs), is and will continue to be an important part of the UK energy mix, providing secure, low carbon energy and thousands of skills jobs. Great British Nuclear is pushing forward with its SMR competition for UK deployment with final decisions to be taken this spring. As with all energy projects, the economic case for SMRs would be considered as part of any investment decision into the technology.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 adequacy of storage capabilities of small modular reactors to power AI datacentres.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Consumption from datacentres has been forecast by NESO to increase and require an uninterrupted supply of electricity. SMRs have potential as a dedicated energy source for datacentres, given their potential to provide a near-constant supply of low-carbon electricity. SMRs do not have traditional storage capabilities, however some SMRs could be paired with thermal energy storage or grid-scale electricity storage to provide backup power and enhance their flexibility.