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, if he will make an estimate of the number of homes that have been retrofitted through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency since the introduction of that fund.
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.
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, when households that use alternative fuels will receive payments through the Alternative Fuel Payment Scheme.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The details of when this payment will be made will be confirmed shortly. The Government is committed to delivering this support to customers as fast as possible this Winter.
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, when he plans to respond to the letter of 11 October 2022 from the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood on energy support for off-grid households, reference ZA47153.
Answered by Graham Stuart
I wrote to the hon. Member on 24 November about energy support for off-grid households.
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, with reference to The University of Manchester’s report Capturing the Carbon Opportunity, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of a nationwide pilot programme to (a) identify additional Carbon Capture and Storage sites and (b) help increase the UK’s skills and infrastructure in relation to sub-surface storage.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government recognises that having sufficient carbon dioxide storage sites is essential to meeting Its net zero ambitions with carbon capture and storage. That is why, the North Sea Transition Authority recently launched the UK’s first-ever carbon storage licensing round with 13 potential areas available.[1]
Skills are at the core of the North Sea Transition Deal, which includes a commitment to facilitate the reskilling of existing parts of the oil and gas workforce to ensure that people and skills are transferable across the wider energy sector, including in relation to sub-surface storage.
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 small businesses in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency have received Government support with the cost of energy.
Answered by Graham Stuart
All small business in Lancaster and Fleetwood, as with every other part of Great Britain, can receive support on their energy bills through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, if they meet the eligibility criteria. The scheme will initially run for six months and will cover energy consumption from the 1 October. Suppliers will automatically apply reductions to the bills of all eligible non-domestic customers, with bills covering October usage generally issued in November.
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, with reference to Dr Laurence Stamford’s recommendations from The University of Manchester’s Energy Futures publication, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of UKOOG’s estimates that shale would only provide about 5 per cent of demand by 2027; and if he will instead tackle decarbonisation to impact consumer bills through energy conservation and reduction demand.
Answered by Graham Stuart
In line with the commitment made in the 2019 Conservative Manifesto, the Government will revert to a precautionary approach regarding hydraulic fracturing operations. The Government will again take a presumption against issuing any further hydraulic fracturing consents, a position which is an effective moratorium.
The Government remains committed to net zero by 2050. The UK is a climate leader and is driving down demand for fossil fuels on the path to net zero.
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 it is his Department's policy to lift the moratorium on fracking.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government supports the core ambitions set out in the 2019 manifesto and will therefore revert to a more precautionary approach. The Government has confirmed that it will adopt a presumption against issuing further hydraulic fracturing consents. The Government will be led by the evidence on whether, in future, this form of exploration can support UK energy security, emission reduction and be acceptable to local communities.
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 recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on tackling institutional racism in higher education institutions.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
There is no room for any form of racism in any part of our society, including in higher education and R&D settings. People are at the heart of our R&D system, so it is important that we create a research environment that attracts, develops, and retains a diverse range of people – including at our world-leading higher education institutions.
BEIS is working closely with other government departments and agencies – including the Department for Education and UK Research and Innovation – and the UK’s research sector to implement the range of actions in the R&D People and Culture Strategy that aim to eradicate discrimination, bullying and harassment.
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 recent progress his Department has made on establishing the Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding; and when (a) boat dwellers and (b) park home residents are likely to receive the £400 payment.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is working quickly to make the support available to applicants as soon as possible. The Government is working with a range of organisations, such as local authorities, as well as Devolved Administrations and across UK Government, to finalise the details and have the process up and running for applications this winter.
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, if he will make an estimate of the number of jobs that are linked to insulating properties in Lancashire.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The transition to high-efficiency low-carbon buildings could support 240,000 skilled jobs by 2035, concentrated on areas of the UK where investment is needed most. BEIS does not have an estimate for the number of jobs that are linked to insulating properties in specific areas such as Lancashire.