Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what data his department holds on the number of energy supply customers whose direct debit was increased by 100 per cent or more between 1 February and 30 April 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department does not collect this data. Suppliers should ensure that their billing and payment arrangements are effective and fair. The regulator, Ofgem, monitors and enforces compliance with the licence obligations on suppliers.
Customers can challenge an increased direct debit amount and their supplier must justify how they calculated the new amount and the meter readings they have used.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2022 to Question 93691 on Energy: Meters, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) monitoring and (b) enforcement by Ofgem of energy suppliers' assessments of customer's ability to pay in calculating prepayment meter repayment rates.
Answered by Graham Stuart
There are no plans for an assessment.
Ofgem’s rules require suppliers to put customers in arrears on realistic and sustainable repayment plans. Suppliers are also required to have appropriate credit management policies and guidelines in place and to monitor arrangements for repayment after they have been set up.
Ofgem’s recent Market Compliance Review found that most suppliers need to make improvements to meet their obligations. Two suppliers were served with immediate enforcement notices, and the regulator will also consider whether enforcement action is warranted for other suppliers.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2022 to Question 94849 on Energy Bills Rebate: Rented Housing, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of Ofgem’s enforcement of its Maximum Resale Price rules on requiring landlords not to charge tenants more than they have paid a supplier for the energy.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Ofgem is not responsible for the enforcement of the Maximum Resale Price. If a tenant suspects they are being overcharged for their energy, they can either make a complaint to the trading standards office or pursue their complaint via the courts. To ensure recent government support is reaching consumers, the Government has introduced new requirements in the Energy Prices Act, which require third-party intermediaries, such as landlords, to pass support through to end users, such as tenants
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with OFCOM on the delivery of the universal postal service minimum requirement obligations by the Royal Mail.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
Ministers and officials meet Ofcom regularly to discuss a range of issues in relation to the delivery of the universal postal service by Royal Mail.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his Department's decision entitled Acquisition of Newport Wafer Fab by Nexperia BV: notice of final order, published 16 November 2022, for what reasons it was determined that Nexperia BV should sell at least 86 per cent of Nexperia Newport Limited.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
Following a detailed national security assessment, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy considered that the Final Order requiring Nexperia BV to divest at least 86% of its shareholding in Nexperia Newport is necessary and proportionate to mitigate the national security risks. The Government cannot comment on the detail of those risks, but they are summarised in the notice of the Final Order which is published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his oral contribution of 21 November 2022, Official Report, col 35, what steps he is taking to ensure all jobs at the Newport Wafer Fab site are protected following the Final Order notice under the National Security and Investment Act.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Government understands the importance of Newport Wafer Fab (renamed Nexperia Newport) to the local economy and the South Wales semiconductor Cluster and that this will be an uncertain time for employees. Decisions regarding the day-to-day running of the Newport site is a matter for the owners, but officials will work closely with Nexperia BV to implement the Secretary of State’s decision.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many registered company insolvencies were recorded in (a) Cynon Valley constituency, (b) Rhondda Cynon Taff local authority area and (c) Wales in each month in the last year.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The data used for insolvency statistics is compiled from information at Companies House and the Insolvency Service, and the registered office address for a company may not be representative of its trading location. Subject to this caveat, the table below sets out the data on estimated company insolvencies by month between 1st November 2021 and 31st October 2022, in the Cynon Valley constituency, Rhondda Cynon Taff local authority and Wales.[1]
Source: Insolvency Service and Companies House
Month | a) Cynon Valley constituency | b) Rhondda Cynon Taff local authority | c) Wales |
November 2021 | 2 | 3 | 29 |
December 2021 | 1 | 1 | 36 |
January 2022 | 1 | 1 | 43 |
February 2022 | 0 | 1 | 34 |
March 2022 | 2 | 2 | 36 |
April 2022 | 2 | 2 | 50 |
May 2022 | 3 | 3 | 39 |
June 2022 | 1 | 2 | 37 |
July 2022 | 0 | 0 | 37 |
August 2022 | 2 | 2 | 42 |
September 2022 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
October 2022 | 1 | 1 | 26 |
Total | 15 | 18 | 444 |
[1] Location is based on registered company address at date of insolvency, which may not be representative of a company’s trading location. |
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Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many individual bankruptcies were recorded in (a) the Cynon Valley constituency, (b) Rhondda Cynon Taff local authority area and (c) Wales in each month in the last year.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
Individual bankruptcy data for Wales are sourced from the Insolvency Service case information system. Below is a table of the number of bankruptcies by month in each of Cynon Valley (parliamentary constituency), Rhondda Cynon Taff (local authority) and Wales in 2021.
Information on individual insolvency by location for 2022 will be available in Official Statistics published in March 2023. To ensure compliance with the rules relating to the pre-release of Official Statistics the Insolvency Service is unable to provide the requested information for 2022 until this time.
Month | a) Cynon Valley constituency | b) Rhondda Cynon Taff local authority | c) Wales |
|
|
|
|
January 2021 | 2 | 4 | 38 |
February 2021 | 1 | 2 | 53 |
March 2021 | 1 | 4 | 73 |
April 2021 | 0 | 0 | 45 |
May 2021 | 1 | 2 | 31 |
June 2021 | 1 | 1 | 31 |
July 2021 | 2 | 6 | 35 |
August 2021 | 2 | 7 | 35 |
September 2021 | 1 | 5 | 38 |
October 2021 | 0 | 2 | 30 |
November 2021 | 1 | 3 | 36 |
December 2021 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
Total | 12 | 36 | 465 |
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
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 potential merits of imposing a temporary dividend ban on the profits of distribution network operators.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, uses the price control process to set the amount that Network Operators can spend and the returns they can make on investment. This allows for funding needed for a more resilient, low-carbon network while protecting consumers from excessive costs. The Government engages regularly with Ofgem and the network companies throughout the development of the price controls. The next electricity distribution network price control will commence in April 2023, with Final Determinations from Ofgem expected shortly.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
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 make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of levying a windfall tax on the profits of distribution network operators.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, uses the price control process to set the amount that Network Operators can spend and the returns they can make on investment. This allows for funding needed for a more resilient, low-carbon network while protecting consumers from excessive costs. The Government engages regularly with Ofgem and the network companies throughout the development of the price controls. The next electricity distribution network price control will commence in April 2023, with Final Determinations from Ofgem expected shortly.