Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what data her Department holds on the average energy costs paid by consumers who (a) received heating from a heat network and (b) did not receive heating from a heat network and whose bill was subject to the energy price cap in 2023.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department currently does not routinely collect heat network customer tariffs. However, we did collect tariff information under our Heat Network Consumer and Operator Survey 2022. This survey found that heat network customers reported paying on average less than those not on heat networks. The energy price cap for the period 1 October to 31 December 2023 is £1,834 a year for a typical household who use gas and electricity and pay by Direct Debit, for non-heat network consumers who were eligible.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the requirement to pass on energy price support to end users under section 19 of the Energy Prices Act 2022, whether she has made an assessment of the number and proportion of intermediaries who have received support under the (a) Energy Price Guarantee, (b) Energy Bills Support Scheme and (c) Energy Bill Relief Scheme and (i) have and (ii) have not passed on that support since the introduction of those schemes.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The legislation was introduced to ensure that intermediaries who received energy price support were legally required to pass through the benefit. The regulations allowed end users to pursue recovery of benefits from their intermediary as a debt through civil proceedings. Should a court rule in the end user’s favour, they will be entitled to the payment, plus interest.
Such an assessment is not possible as data is not held in this way. We believe in the majority of cases energy price support was passed on to the consumer. We are aware of a small number of cases which have been escalated and are currently being investigated by the authorities.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department has taken to enforce the requirement to pass on energy price support to end users under section 19 of the Energy Prices Act 2022 in relation to the (a) Energy Price Guarantee, (b) Energy Bills Support Scheme and (c) Energy Bill Relief Scheme.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The legislation was introduced to ensure that intermediaries who received energy price support were legally required to pass through the benefit. The regulations allowed end users to pursue recovery of benefits from their intermediary as a debt through civil proceedings. Should a court rule in the end user’s favour, they will be entitled to the payment, plus interest.
Such an assessment is not possible as data is not held in this way. We believe in the majority of cases energy price support was passed on to the consumer. We are aware of a small number of cases which have been escalated and are currently being investigated by the authorities.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what data her Department holds on the prices paid by customers who receive heating from heat networks as of 13 October 2023.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department currently does not routinely collect heat network customer tariffs. However, the Heat Network Consumer and Operator Survey 2022 found that heat network customers reported paying less than non-heat network consumers for heating and hot water. The Energy Bill will allow the Government to introduce regulations for heat networks, including requirements for network operators to continually report their prices and other data to Ofgem.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate her Department has made of the number and proportion of consumers whose energy is provided by a heat network who are in fuel poverty in (a) Norfolk and (b) the UK.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government have not made an estimate of the number of fuel poor households whose energy is provided by a heat network.
Low income and fuel poor households on a heat network may be eligible for support schemes, such as the Warm Home Discount, and energy efficiency schemes including the Energy Company Obligation.
Under the Energy Bill Discount Scheme heat suppliers face a legal obligation to pass support on to consumers. Heat network customers in Great Britain can contact the Energy Ombudsman if they are concerned that their operator is not meeting the requirements under the scheme. The Government further regulated heat networks via the Energy Bill.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to introduce mandatory food waste reporting for large businesses.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Food and drink businesses should report their food waste through the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap. There are no plans at this time to extend this voluntary scheme to a mandatory one.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had recent discussions with NHS England on expanding the provision of clinical care for Tourette Syndrome.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No recent discussions have taken place.
The majority of services for people with Tourette syndrome are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs are best placed to make decisions regarding the provision of health services to their local population, including for the treatment of Tourette syndrome, subject to local prioritisation and funding.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support children in school who have reported an allegation of sexual assault or rape by a peer.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department’s statutory safeguarding guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE)’ provides schools and colleges with advice on handling allegations of sexual assault or rape by a peer. All schools and colleges must have regard to this guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils.
KCSIE does not provide, nor would it be possible to provide, detailed guidance on what to do in every case. Instead, it provides effective safeguarding practice and principles for schools to consider in their decision making process.
Part five of KCSIE provides clear advice on what schools should do to manage any reports of child on child sexual violence or sexual harassment. It provides detailed information on schools’ legal responsibilities, best practice, and advice on managing reports of harmful sexual behaviour or abuse, with links to specialist advice and support for children.
The Department consults bi-annually on KCSIE to ensure that it provides school and college safeguarding leads with the information they need to keep pupils safe.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what factors its Department (a) considers and (b) advocates as a priority on the cross-agency topic prioritisation group; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) cross-agency topic prioritisation group includes senior executives from NICE, NHS England, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the Department. When deciding which topics to prioritise for guideline development, and in what order, the group considers system priorities and clinical need, including factors such as the health and care burden, the evidence base and variation in practice. To build on the work of this group, NICE’s Chief Medical Officer is establishing a new prioritisation board. NICE will make further information about the factors this board will consider in its decisions available on its website in due course.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for NHS treatment.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs