Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to increase funding for renewable energy sources in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Grant funding for renewable innovation or community-based renewable schemes is open for both local authorities and private investors to bid. The Contract for Difference scheme, the Government’s main mechanism for supporting low carbon generation, is awarded through a competitive process, ensuring that the most cost-effective projects are supported regardless of their location.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to increase the rate of energy efficiency measure installations in homes in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is committed to improving the energy performance of homes across the country, including in Lancaster and Fleetwood.
The Government is already investing £6.6 billion over this parliament on decarbonising heat and energy efficiency measures.
An additional £6 billion of new Government funding, announced in the Autumn Statement, will be made available from 2025 to 2028. This provides long-term funding certainty, supporting the growth of supply chains, and ensuring we can scale up our delivery over time.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes have had ECO scheme measures installed in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency as of 31 October 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
BEIS publishes information on the number of households in receipt of ECO measures by Parliamentary Constituency in Table 4.5 accompanying the latest Household Energy Efficiency Statistics release.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many jobs did the Green Homes Grant support in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
An evaluation of the effectiveness of the voucher scheme, including analysis of scheme outcomes and evidence collected from scheme applicants and other stakeholders, is being undertaken by an independent research organisation. The evaluation includes an assessment of the effect of the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme on jobs, with findings available in Summer 2023.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many projects have been completed in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency through the Green Deal as of 31 October 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
BEIS estimates that at the end of October 2022, there were 9 ‘live’ Green Deal plans (all measures installed) and 12 'completed' plans (all measures installed and paid off) in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps is his Department taking to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises are receiving the correct level of support from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme is set out clearly in legislation and will be applied in a uniform way by all licensed suppliers. The regulations include a robust compliance and enforcement regime to ensure requirements are being met. Suppliers are also required to inform customers about the details of support, including the amount of the discount and discounted supply price.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many SMEs in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency have received Government funding for support during the cost of living crisis.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The Government recognises the impact rising prices are having on businesses, including those in Lancaster and Fleetwood.
Businesses in Lancaster and Fleetwood will have benefitted from the Government’s reversal of the National Insurance rise, saving SMEs on average £4,200, cut fuel duty for 12 months and the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, to protect SMEs from high energy costs over the winter. The Employment Allowance was increased to £5,000 from April and we have continued to provide business rate relief worth over £7bn, freezing the business rates multiplier for a further year.
The Government is providing financial support - 102 SMEs in Lancaster and Fleetwood have received Start Up Loans to the value of £866,495 as of November 2022.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on taking steps to improve accessibility to entrepreneurship and business ownership for people with protected characteristics in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The Government is fully committed to supporting businesses and creating the best conditions for enterprise so that everyone, whatever their background, has the means and know-how to start and grow a business.
We are supporting early-stage entrepreneurs from all backgrounds through the Start-Up Loans Company which provides funding and intensive support to new entrepreneurs.
Since 2012, 40% of Start Up Loans have gone to women, worth over £344m and 20% of loans worth 187m have gone to Black, Asian, and Ethnic-minority businesses. 102 SMEs in Lancaster and Fleetwood have received Start Up Loans to the value of £866,495 as of November 2022.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with businesses in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency on the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on those businesses.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The Government recognises the impact rising prices are having on businesses, including those in Lancaster and Fleetwood, and is engaging with businesses across the UK to understand these challenges and explore ways to mitigate them.
The Government has reversed the National Insurance rise, saving SMEs £4,200 on average; cut fuel duty for 12 months; raised the Employment Allowance to £5,000 and introduced the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which is shielding businesses across the country from soaring energy prices, saving some around half of their wholesale energy costs.
We have also announced £13.6 billion of support for businesses over the next five years, reducing the burden of business rates for SMEs.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes were retrofitted as a result of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency as of 31 October 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator and Wave 1 awarded a combined total of around £240m of grant funding to Local Authorities, with data held on local authority-led projects rather than at a constituency level. The SHDF Wave 2.1 competition, which closed on 18th November 2022, will allocate up to £800m of grant funding, with successful projects likely to be notified in March 2023.