Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many claims have been made for the first £400 instalment of the Energy Bill Support Scheme vouchers by households in Ogmore.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Households in Great Britain should have automatically received the first instalment of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) in October. There is no need for customers to claim the discount.
Prepayment meter customers should have received their first Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) discount voucher. These have been sent by SMS text, email or post.
Suppliers are reporting to BEIS on scheme delivery, including the redemption of prepayment meter vouchers. These figures will be published in due course.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households in Ogmore which are eligible for the first £400 instalment of the Energy Bill Support Scheme have not yet claimed it.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) is delivering a £400 non-repayable government discount in instalments over six months from October to March to help 29 million households with energy bills over the winter. The first payment reached consumers in October. There is no need to apply for the discount under the Energy Support Scheme in Great in Britain.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households in Ogmore constituency will not be covered by the Government's energy price cap.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Every household in the Ogmore constituency on standard gas networks will be covered by the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee scheme, saving around £700 this winter. For those who use off-grid or alternative heating, the Alternative Fuel Payment will provide £100 to support households which do not use mains gas and electricity for heating.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
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 small businesses that have moved their businesses online because they were not able to afford their energy bills in the latest period for which data is available; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has made no estimate of the number of small businesses which may have taken the decision to move their activities entirely online.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
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 is taking steps to introduce financial incentives to encourage community energy schemes during the cost of living crisis; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Community energy schemes within Wales have access to support from the Welsh Government.
Ofgem supports community energy projects and welcomes applications from community interest groups, co-operative societies, and community benefit societies to the Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme.
The Government is enabling local areas to tackle net zero goals through UK-wide growth funding schemes. The Government also encourages community energy groups to work closely with their local authority to support the development of community energy projects within these schemes.
Given the level of support already available, the Government has no plans to take further steps to introduce financial incentives for community energy at this time.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
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 has taken to provide (a) financial and (b) other support to people running community energy schemes in Ogmore constituency in the last five years.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Community energy schemes within Wales have access to support from the Welsh Government.
Ofgem supports community energy projects and welcomes applications from community interest groups, co-operative societies, and community benefit societies to the Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme.
The Government is enabling local areas to tackle net zero goals through UK-wide growth funding schemes. The Government also encourages community energy groups to work closely with their local authority to support the development of community energy projects within these schemes.
Given the level of support already available, the Government has no plans to take further steps to introduce financial incentives for community energy at this time.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
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 publish his recent correspondence with industry leaders on the use of low-carbon generators.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government engages with industry leaders on a range of issues, including energy security and net zero. It is not Government policy to publish Ministerial correspondence.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps he will take what Cabinet colleagues to support people made redundant by the closure of Jehu Group.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
I am sorry to hear that the Jehu Group, based in Bridgend with a long history in South Wales, has gone into liquidation. An Official Receiver has been appointed to oversee the winding up of the business.
We offered immediate support for the 106 people who have been made redundant to date through the Department of Work and Pensions Rapid Response Service. A team from the Bridgend Job Centre, working alongside Careers Wales, visited the company the day the closure was announced, and they have offered one-to-one advice and support to all those affected.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on steps to promote the integration of minority communities in Wales.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
I was appointed Secretary of State for Wales on Tuesday 25 October. I intend to have a series of meetings with Cabinet colleagues, including the Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities to discuss a variety of issues that are of importance to both Wales and the UK.
As Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, I was delighted to visit the Butetown community centre in Cardiff and saw first-hand the great work they are doing with the funding received from the Windrush Community Fund.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the potential lost revenue in TV licensing fines if non-payment prosecutions were paused during the cost-of-living crisis.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The BBC is responsible for the collection and enforcement of the licence fee, not the government. The Government is therefore not involved in TV Licensing operations. HM Courts & Tribunals Service is responsible for collecting and enforcing financial penalties imposed by the courts which includes fines imposed for the non-payment of a TV licence.
In 2021, 49,126 people were proceeded against by HM Courts & Tribunals Service for non-payment of the licence fee, and 44,364 were fined. The BBC has recently confirmed that no enforcement or prosecution action has been taken against over-75s who previously held a free licence and therefore no over-75s have been fined. The Department does not hold data on the amount collected from TV licensing fines and will engage with relevant departments to follow up with this information.
The Government is independent from the BBC, and any decision to suspend enforcement action by TV Licensing, or assessment of the impact of this decision, would be a matter for the BBC. Given the BBC’s independence it would not be appropriate for the government to seek to intervene in operational decisions on enforcement action. Nonetheless, the government expects the BBC to collect the licence fee in an efficient and proportionate manner, and to treat all vulnerable people with sensitivity in doing so.