Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the policy paper entitled Heat and buildings strategy, published on 19 October 2021, CP 388, how her Department will assess whether it is (a) cost-effective, (b) practical and (c) affordable for homes to meet energy performance certificate band C by 2035.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government’s 2017 Clean Growth Strategy set out our aspiration that as many homes as possible are improved to EPC Band C by 2035, where practical, cost-effective and affordable. The definitions of “practical”, “cost-effective” and “affordable” will vary depending on the context. Defining these too prescriptively could lead to undesirable outcomes as such definitions may not result in least cost decarbonisation. As a result, the Department does not have a universal definition of “practical”, “cost-effective” or “affordable”.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has set an annual target for the proportion of low-income homes meeting energy performance certificate band C in each year between 2022-23 and 2034-35.
Answered by Graham Stuart
In England, the Government’s target is to ‘ensure that as many fuel poor households as is reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency rating of a Band C by 2030’. The Government has an interim milestone for as many fuel poor homes as is reasonably practicable to reach Band D by 2025.
The Government set an ambition for all homes to reach EPC band C by 2035 where practical, cost-effective and affordable, in line with the Government's Net Zero target.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the policy paper entitled Heat and buildings strategy, published on 19 October 2021, CP 388, whether her Department has made a recent estimate of the number of homes for which it would not be (a) cost-effective, (b) practical and (c) affordable to meet energy performance certificate band C by 2035.
Answered by Graham Stuart
There is no 'one-size fits all' approach to improving the UK's housing stock and whether it is practical, cost-effective and affordable for an individual home to reach EPC C will depend on the context; therefore, no estimate has been made.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has set a target by which all low-income homes will meet energy performance certificate band C.
Answered by Graham Stuart
In England, the Government has set a fuel poverty target to ensure that as many fuel poor homes as is reasonably practicable achieve a minimum fuel poverty energy efficiency rating of Band C by 2030.
The fuel poverty energy efficiency rating contains an uplift to the energy performance certificate rating where qualifying households’ costs are reduced through the Warm Home Discount rebate.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has set an annual target for the proportion of homes meeting energy performance certificate band C in each year between 2022-23 and 2034-35.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has set an ambition for all homes to reach EPC band C by 2035 where practical, cost-effective and affordable, in line with the Government's Net Zero target. Good progress has been made with 47% of homes in England in 2021 EPC level C, up from 14% in 2010.
The Government is investing £6.6 billion over this Parliament on clean heat and improving energy efficiency in buildings, reducing our reliance on fossil fuel heating. In addition, £6 billion of new Government funding will be made available from 2025 to 2028. This provides long-term funding certainty, supporting the growth of supply chains, and ensuring the Government can scale up its delivery over time.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to the Westminster Hall debate on Energy Charter Treaty on 21 March 2023, Official Report, columns 52WH to 53WH, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of ending the UK's membership of the Energy Charter Treaty.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK has been a strong advocate for modernising the Energy Charter Treaty, recognising the urgent need to align it with modern energy priorities, international treaty practice and commitments on climate change. Since the decision to adopt the modernised Treaty has been postponed, the Government has been assessing the situation in order to respond appropriately, considering the views of stakeholders in business, civil society and Parliament. The Government will keep the House informed of developments as soon as it is able to do so.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
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 views of stakeholders in (a) business, (b) civil society and (c) Parliament on the UK's membership of the Energy Charter Treaty.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK has been a strong advocate for modernising the Energy Charter Treaty, recognising the urgent need to align it with modern energy priorities, international treaty practice and commitments on climate change. Since the decision to adopt the modernised Treaty has been postponed, the Government has been assessing the situation in order to respond appropriately, considering the views of stakeholders in business, civil society and Parliament. The Government will keep the House informed of developments as soon as it is able to do so.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when his Department plans to make a decision on the modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK has been a strong advocate for modernising the Energy Charter Treaty, recognising the urgent need to align it with modern energy priorities, international treaty practice and commitments on climate change. Since the decision to adopt the modernised Treaty has been postponed, the Government has been assessing the situation in order to respond appropriately, considering the views of stakeholders in business, civil society and Parliament. The Government will keep the House informed of developments as soon as it is able to do so.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
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 9 March 2023 to Question 156174 on Warm Home Discount Scheme, whether his Department have asked household energy suppliers to provide an estimate of the number of households who were previously eligible for the Warm Homes Discount and are no longer eligible.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The evaluation of the reformed Warm Home Discount scheme is expected to commence in Summer 2023. We do not collect claimant data from previous years held by energy suppliers, and there are no current plans to compare previous and current recipients in the evaluation.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
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 9 March 2023 to Question 156174 on Warm Home Discount Scheme, if his Department will make an estimate of the number of households that were previously eligible for the Warm Homes Discount and are no longer eligible.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The evaluation of the reformed Warm Home Discount scheme is expected to commence in Summer 2023. We do not collect claimant data from previous years held by energy suppliers, and there are no current plans to compare previous and current recipients in the evaluation.