Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 made an estimate of how many gigafactories manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles there will be in 2030..
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Through the Automotive Transformation Fund, Government is supporting R&D and capital investments across strategically important parts of the electric vehicle supply chain, and the Government has prioritised securing investment in battery cell gigafactories. This is key for anchoring the mass manufacture of electric vehicles in the UK, safeguarding jobs, and driving emissions to net zero by 2050.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the rate of closure of small and independent breweries in the UK in the last 6 months.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Department sponsors the hospitality sector and assesses the state of that sector on an ongoing basis. We also work closely with DEFRA on support for key supply chain companies, including the UK’s small and independent breweries, and maintain regulator contact with the Society of Independent Brewers.
The Government recognises hospitality businesses are facing higher costs driven by global factors, including high energy and cost of living pressures. The Energy Bill Relief Scheme ensures that businesses are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period.
My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Excheuquer recently announced in his Autumn Statement a range of measures to support firms with business rates worth £13.6 billion over the next 5 years, including increased and extended Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support he plans to provide to (a) pubs, (b) social clubs (c) breweries and (d) cider and perry producers for the cost of energy once the Energy Bill Relief Scheme ends; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
HMT is currently conducting a review of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and evidence from care providers is included in that review. The Government cannot confirm which sectors will receive further support after 31st March 2023 until the end of the review, which will report by the end of this year.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 it his policy to bring forward the introduction of the ECO+ scheme to winter 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government intends to lay the necessary legislation for the scheme to launch in Spring 2023 and run until March 2026. We are also working with energy suppliers to explore the potential for some earlier delivery in 2023, before the legislation comes into force.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to to make it easier for customers to claim unused credit on their energy accounts.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has no plans to intervene in this area. Customers in Great Britain can claim unused credit at any time and their supplier must refund them promptly unless they have reasonable grounds not to.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to reduce the average cost of retro-fitting a household.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is providing support to those on low incomes through our ‘Help to Heat’ schemes.
The Government is working to reduce the cost of low carbon heating technologies like heat pumps, including through the £60 million Heat Pump Innovation Fund and the £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Launched in 2019, the Whole House Retrofit Cost Reduction Trajectory Competition is a key step in exploring the potential for reductions in domestic retrofit costs. Through the competition, £7.7 million has been awarded to three organisations. The results of the competition are due in the summer of 2023.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he expects there to be 30,000 fully trained heat pump installers in the UK.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Analysis by the Heat Pump Association suggests that over 30,000 heat pump installers will be needed by 2028. Training is widely available, and the Government expect installers to continue to train in response to increasing demand.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to review the adequacy of fireworks legislation.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government endorses the considerate use of fireworks and action taken to reduce the risks and disturbances to individuals, animals and property. The majority of individuals who use fireworks do so in a responsible and safe manner and there are enforcement mechanisms in place to tackle situations when fireworks are misused. The Government has no current plans to legislate further but continues to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Government will make it its policy to allow trade union members to vote online when deciding to take industrial action.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Before responding to the Knight Review recommendations, the Government was required by Section 4 of the Trade Union Act 2016 to consult relevant organisations, including professionals from expert associations, to seek their advice and recommendations.
We have done this and are now finalising our consideration of Sir Ken’s recommendations before we issue our response in due course.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of domestic properties using (a) oil and (b) liquefied petroleum gas for heating by parliamentary constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Survey data only exists at a national level for the number of properties that use oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for heating.
Country | Oil for heating | LPG for heating |
England1 | 762,000 dwellings (3.2 per cent) | 159,000 households (0.7 per cent) |
Scotland2 | 129,000 households (5 per cent) | 18,000 households (1 per cent) |
Wales3 | 135,000 dwellings (10 per cent) | Not available |
Northern Ireland4 | 526,000 dwellings (67.5 per cent) | Not available |
1 English Housing Survey, 2020 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/energy-performance)
2 Scottish House Condition Survey, 2019 (https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-house-condition-survey-2019-key-findings/pages/4/)
3 Welsh Housing Conditions Survey, 2017/18 (https://gov.wales/welsh-housing-conditions-survey-energy-efficiency-dwellings-april-2017-march-2018)
4 Northern Ireland House Condition Survey, 2016 (https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/publications/northern-ireland-housing-statistics-2020-21)
The 2011 Census includes estimates that classify occupied household spaces in England and Wales by the types of central heating present, including oil central heating, for 2010 parliamentary constituencies (https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/qs415uk)