Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
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 made an assessment of the merits of extending eligibility for Warm Home Grants to (a) those with EPC ratings higher than D and (b) people with disabilities.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) scheme is designed to target those in or at risk of fuel poverty. Those with EPC band A-C ratings are out of scope because a household is only considered by Government to be fuel poor if they have a residual income below 60% of median income (after accounting for required fuel cost) and live in a home that has a Fuel Poor Energy Efficiency Rating (FPEER) below Band C.
WH:LG excludes all disability benefits from household income calculations to help households including members with disabilities not to exceed the £36,000 household income eligibility threshold. Additionally, people with health conditions; who are vulnerable to the cold; or who are in receipt of certain disability benefits, can use this as one of their two required criterions to become eligible under ECO LA Flex Route 2.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress he has made on (a) ending and (b) reversing deforestation.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Tackling deforestation is vital to meeting UK goals on climate, nature and growth. If tropical forests are lost, food prices will rise, including for UK consumers. While rates of deforestation are falling in some countries such as Brazil, drivers of forest loss are complex and will require collective global effort.
The UK is driving progress through political leadership and diplomatic engagement, and through our international climate finance, working with partner governments to improve forest governance, sustainable trade and unlocking private finance.
We recognise we must also do our bit domestically. We are working towards our Environment Act targets, including to halt nature’s decline by 2030 and to reach 16.5% tree canopy cover in England by 2050. We have pledged up to £400 million for tree planting and peatland restoration over the financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26. Total tree planting and woodland creation reached over 5,500 hectares in England last year [2023/2024].