Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of expanding the eligibility criteria of the Shared Prosperity Fund to include extracurricular and volunteering organisations.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) has a light-touch delegated delivery model, empowering lead local authorities to make decisions on how funding is allocated in their area, including setting their own eligibility criteria.

Volunteering activities and organisations may be supported where this meets local need.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the projected funding required to meet the fuel poverty targets set out in the Fuel Poverty Strategy for England by 2030.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is determined to double the pace at which we slash fuel poverty. DESNZ will publish new fuel poverty statistics on 26 March.

As a result of decisions taken in the Budget, energy bills are set to fall by 7% or £117 from April. The expansion of the Warm Home Discount means nearly 6 million households are now eligible for the discount. We will continue to provide this until 2030/31.

We also made a £15 billion investment in the Warm Homes Plan. £5 billion of this is going to low-income and fuel poor households, initially delivered through the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Warm Homes: Local Grant. This is made up of £4.4 billion in direct capital grants and an initial £600 million from the Warm Homes Fund, our new strategic investment facility.

Our plans to introduce minimum energy efficiency standards in the private and social rented sectors will deliver long lasting change with around 650,000 households lifted out of fuel poverty.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress he has made towards meeting the statutory fuel poverty targets by 2030.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is determined to double the pace at which we slash fuel poverty. DESNZ will publish new fuel poverty statistics on 26 March.

As a result of decisions taken in the Budget, energy bills are set to fall by 7% or £117 from April. The expansion of the Warm Home Discount means nearly 6 million households are now eligible for the discount. We will continue to provide this until 2030/31.

We also made a £15 billion investment in the Warm Homes Plan. £5 billion of this is going to low-income and fuel poor households, initially delivered through the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Warm Homes: Local Grant. This is made up of £4.4 billion in direct capital grants and an initial £600 million from the Warm Homes Fund, our new strategic investment facility.

Our plans to introduce minimum energy efficiency standards in the private and social rented sectors will deliver long lasting change with around 650,000 households lifted out of fuel poverty.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the VAT treatment of heat batteries.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials or ‘ESMs’ in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a charitable purpose benefit from a VAT zero-rate until March 2027.

We constantly evaluate whether to add ESMs, including heat batteries, to this relief. Any decisions would be announced by the Chancellor at a fiscal event, having assessed any change against the context of the overall public finances.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of making a formal recommendation to HM Treasury on extending VAT relief to Microgeneration Certification Scheme-certified heat batteries.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Tax treatment is the responsibility of HM Treasury and they keep all taxes under review.

This Government has invested £15 billion in the Warm Homes Plan to help upgrade British homes and cut bills. Whilst we expect heat pumps to be suitable for the vast majority of properties, some may be less suitable and so we are supporting alternative low carbon technologies like heat batteries, air-to-air heat pumps, and biomass boilers.

We are also expanding the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to provide more options, including heat batteries. To simplify the system for consumers and installers, Government has recently mandated Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) as the sole certification scheme for clean heat installations under DESNZ schemes.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps is the Government taking to protect rural and semi-rural households from fuel poverty resulting from increases in heating oil prices.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is closely monitoring heating oil supply and price in light of instability in the Middle East. International kerosene prices are >75% higher than they were before the conflict and this is putting pressure on heating oil prices.

The Secretary of State has written to the industry reminding heating oil distributors of their commitments under the UKIFDA Code of Practice, including the need for fair, transparent and justifiable pricing. Ministers have also spoken with the Competition and Markets Authority, who have announced they are reviewing evidence of potential unfair practices and anti-competitive behaviour.

We are keeping under review whether any further support or action is needed to protect consumers.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of instances in the Capacity Market where consumers paid for capacity that did not materialise.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department has not made an assessment of this scenario because Capacity Providers are not paid for capacity that does not build out and therefore there is no cost to consumers. Payments under the Capacity Market are only made after a Capacity Provider has demonstrated that it is available to deliver. Where existing capacity fails to demonstrate availability or deliver during its obligation period, payments are suspended and the relevant Capacity Agreement is terminated.

From a security of supply perspective non delivery risk is factored into the way that targets are set within the Capacity Market based on historic data. This ensures that we can have confidence that we are securing the right level of capacity needed to maintain electricity security through a range of scenarios.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what process her Department has in place to help ensure that Plan 2 student loan borrowers are informed of any changes made to their repayment terms.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Student Loans Company (SLC) publishes confirmation of the interest rates and repayment threshold to apply in the upcoming financial year annually on GOV.UK. Furthermore, SLC have extensive guidance on the operation of the student loan repayments system available on GOV.UK.

Online abuse and exploitation of Ukrainian refugees

Coniston Hydro

Funding for rural Britain

Windermere

Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week 2025

Scientific hearing on animal experiments

Delay Repay scheme

Airport drop-off charges

Outdoor learning

Heating oil prices

Refugee homelessness and the asylum move-on period

New US sanctions on Cuba

Funding for rural fire and rescue services

Found: Democrat; Mid Dunbartonshire) Euan Stainbank (Labour; Falkirk) Peter Swallow (Labour; Bracknell) Claire Young

Found: Sir Christopher Chope; Lizzi Collinge; Graeme Downie; Wera Hobhouse; Melanie Onn; Mike Reader; Claire Young