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 discussions he has had with representatives of (a) Royal Mail and (b) the Communications Workers Union to assist those parties to agree a pay deal.
Answered by Dean Russell
Ministers and officials have discussions with different stakeholders on a range of issues however the dispute over pay is an industrial relations matter for Royal Mail, as a private company, and the Communication Workers Union to settle.
It is regrettable to see postal services being disrupted due to strike action and the impacts this will have on consumers, businesses and other users.
The Government is monitoring the situation closely and continues to strongly urge both sides to reach an agreement as soon as possible as talking is the best way to avoid industrial action.
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 it is his policy that employment law and its application will be different in freeport areas compared to the rest of the UK.
Answered by Dean Russell
Freeports are not exempt from the UK’s high standards of employment laws and protections. The National Minimum Wage applies to all regions and sectors of the UK economy, including Freeports.
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 the minimum wage will be the same in the Government's planned freeports as it is outside of these areas.
Answered by Dean Russell
Freeports are not exempt from the UK’s high standards of employment laws and protections. The National Minimum Wage applies to all regions and sectors of the UK economy, including Freeports.
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 steps he plans to take to assist (a) pubs, (b) bars and (c) restaurants with rising energy bills.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government announced a new six-month scheme – the Energy Price Guarantee for Businesses (EPGB) – to protect all businesses and other non-domestic energy users from soaring energy costs. It will offer comparable support to that being provided for consumers and we expect the scheme to be available in the autumn. After this initial six-month scheme the Government will provide focused support for vulnerable sectors, targeted to make sure those most in need get support.
The Government is also supporting pubs with business rates relief, freezing alcohol duty rates on beer, cider, wine and spirits, and by increasing the employment allowance.
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 require shops selling cold food to have doors on their chillers.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government set out in the Energy related Products Framework (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-related-products-policy-framework) that research has identified commercial refrigeration as a potential area for energy efficiency improvement.
The Government will continue to develop its understanding of the barriers preventing the uptake of the most energy efficient technology, and of the enablers which could help to lessen these barriers.
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 his Department will make an assessment of the impact of bringing energy companies into public ownership on energy bills.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government does not intend to make such an assessment. Nationalisation will not solve the current challenge of high global fossil fuel prices and the impact this is having on the cost of energy. Properly regulated markets, which incentivise private capital to invest in the energy system, provide the best outcome for consumers and promote market competition as the best driver of efficiency, innovation and value.
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 his Department will make an estimate of the number of trained heat pump installers there (a) were in each year between 2019 and 2021 and (b) will be in each year between 2022 and 2025.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) estimates that the number of heat pump installers working for MCS Certified businesses in the UK was approximately 2,700 in 2019, 3,200 in 2020, 3,500 in 2021 and 4,000 as of July 2022. The total number of trained installers is, however, likely to be greater than this, as MCS Certification is only required for installations receiving Government grant funding.
The numbers of installers are expected to continue to increase as demand grows between now and 2025; the Heat Pump Association estimates that we will need 6,800 installers in 2023, 9,400 in 2024 and 12,400 in 2025.
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 undertook behaviour change research to support the design and delivery of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme was informed by a host of consultations, evaluations and social research evidence into consumer and installer preferences and attitudes including:
- Transforming heat: public attitudes research
o https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-heat-public-attitudes-research
- BEIS Public Attitudes Tracker
o https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-attitudes-tracking-survey
- RHI evaluation – synthesis report
o https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rhi-evaluation-synthesis-report
- BUS Government Response
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-support-for-low-carbon-heat
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 estimate (a) what proportion of heat pumps sold in the UK were (i) manufactured in and (ii) imported to the UK and (b) the number of heat pumps imported from each country exporting to the UK in each of the last three years.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The latest data available is from the BEIS commissioned Heat Pump Manufacturing Supply Chain Research Project, which found that approximately 30 per cent of heat pumps sold in the UK in 2019 were manufactured domestically, and this is expected to increase over time as the market matures. The report also holds information on the origin of heat pumps imported into the UK, which come from more than 16 different countries.
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 assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of supporting the development of synthetic fuels.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The supply of low carbon fuels, including synthetic, will help reduce the environmental impact of transport. For example, Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), on average, could achieve over 70% emissions savings on a lifecycle basis. Presented in the Jet Zero Strategy, the Government aims to build a UK SAF industry that could support up to 5,200 jobs and Gross Value Added of up to £2.7bn.
The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund will support sites to switch to low carbon fuels (synthetic fuel production is not within scope). The Red Diesel Replacement competition has a Phase 1 project working towards producing synthetic fuel.