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 abolish energy pre-payment meters.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Some households prefer to pay for their energy by prepayment meter as this allows them to control and budget the amount they spend and helps mitigate the risk of going into, or exacerbating, existing debt. A ban on using prepayment meters would leave court enforcement as the only recourse in cases of non-payment and large debt.
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 energy bills to decrease following the drop in price of wholesale gas.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Recent reductions in gas wholesale prices are welcome, however the market remains volatile, and prices are still well above historical norms. Suppliers buy energy in advance of when it is delivered and Ofgem determines a maximum price they can charge consumers to recover the cost of this through the price cap. This means there is a lag time between changes in price and it being reflected in consumer bills. The Government has introduced the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) which will save a typical household around £900 this winter, on top of a £400 discount through the Energy Bill Support Scheme.
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 he has made of the adequacy of the UK’s gas supply for the rest of the winter; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government remains confident in its plans to protect households and businesses in the full range of scenarios this winter. The cold snap in December demonstrated the resilience of UK energy supply. Gas was well-supplied and the markets responded effectively.
The Government works closely with Ofgem and National Grid to ensure system operators have the right tools to respond to fluctuations in supply and demand. Britain has a strategic advantage through access to North Sea gas reserves, steady imports from partners like Norway, the second largest Liquefied Natural Gas port infrastructure in Europe and investment in renewables.
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, how many SMEs have received public funding to support increases in the cost of living in Warrington North.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the impact rising prices are having on businesses, including those in Warrington North.
Businesses in Warrington North 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 - 142 SMEs in Warrington North have received Start Up Loans to the value of £1,356,272 as of November 2022.
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 had recent discussions with businesses in Warrington North constituency on the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on those businesses.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the impact rising prices are having on businesses, including those in Warrington North, 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: 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 an estimate of the number of homes that have been retrofitted through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund in Warrington North constituency since the introduction of that fund.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The 2019 Conservative Manifesto committed to a £3.8bn Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) over a 10-year period. The SHDF 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: 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 plans to increase funding for renewable energy sources in Warrington North constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Grant funding for renewable innovation or community-based renewable schemes is open for both local authorities and private investors to bid on. 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: 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 his Department is taking to increase the rate of energy efficiency measure installations in homes in Warrington North constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to improving the energy performance of homes across the country, including Warrington North.
The Government is investing £6.6 billion in decarbonising heat and energy efficiency measures. In addition, the Energy Company Obligation Scheme is in its fourth iteration which will run until 2026 with a value of £4 billion. ECO + has also been announced, worth £1 billion and will run from Spring 2023 to March 2026.
£6 billion of additional Government funding towards supporting energy efficiency improvements will be made available from 2025 to 2028.
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 his Department is taking to help ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises are receiving the correct level of support from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme in Warrington North.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme is set out 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: 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 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 Warrington North constituency.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
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.
142 SMEs in Warrington North have received Start Up Loans to the value of £1,356,272 as of November 2022.