Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 25 July 2022 to Question 37516 on Solar Power, if he will take steps to increase the installation of domestic solar panels by enabling households with solar panels and battery storage to receive the rate of wholesale electricity as payment for excess electricity exported to the grid for the next three years.
Answered by Graham Stuart
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the then Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth on 25th July 2022 to Question 37516.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 potential merits of decoupling gas and electricity wholesale prices.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has recently announced a package of support for consumers and non-domestic customers that will provide people with certainty on energy bills. This includes negotiating new long term energy contracts with domestic and international gas suppliers, accelerating all sources of domestic energy, including North Sea oil and gas production, speeding up our deployment of all clean and renewable technologies including hydrogen, solar, carbon capture and storage, and wind, and also working with electricity generators to reform the outdated market structure where gas sets the price for all electricity.
The Government recently launched The Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) - a major review into Britain’s electricity market design, which is considering ways of increasing investment in low carbon capacity which would result in gas-fired generation being the price setter for electricity less often, and reforms to the wholesale market which could decouple gas and electricity prices.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the British Franchise Association report entitled 2018 Franchise landscape: Brought to you by the BFA and NatWest, which found that failure rates for franchises remain very low, if he will take steps to launch a public campaign in support of the franchise model.
Answered by Dean Russell
The Government has no current plans to launch any campaign on this issue.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his contribution of 5 September 2022, Energy Update statement, Official Report, column 59, on what date he plans to announce the energy bill support arrangements for people in (a) park homes, (b) multiple dwelling units and (c) other homes without a conventional relationship with an electricity supplier.
Answered by Graham Stuart
On 29 July the Government set out further details of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) and confirmed that further funding would be available to provide equivalent support of £400 for energy bills for the small percentage of domestic energy consumers not reached by EBSS. This will include those who do not have a domestic electricity meter or a direct relationship with an energy supplier.
This support will be provided alongside the ‘Energy Price Guarantee’ which will mean a typical UK household will pay no more than £2,500 a year on its energy bill for the next two years.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 extend the deadline of the Horizon compensation scheme to allow the estimated 170 branch managers who were not aware of the scheme and are reported to have missed the deadline to apply.
Answered by Jane Hunt
The Department has held initial discussions with Post Office on this issue and is expecting to receive a formal proposal shortly. BEIS, supported by UKGI, will then work closely with Post Office to find an appropriate and fair solution.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 discussions with the National Grid on the potential merits of building an offshore electricity grid instead of additional on-land energy pylons.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
BEIS has worked with National Grid Electricity System Operator to bring together the design of connections for offshore wind with wider network reinforcements and consider the cumulative environmental and community impacts upfront.
Where the need for new reinforcements have been identified in the Holistic Network Design (HND) no decisions have yet been taken by National Grid Electricity Transmission. Any project will be subject to the relevant planning processes. Placing all new infrastructure offshore is not a feasible option. Electricity needs to get to where the demand is, which is onshore. Even with offshore cables, infrastructure is required at landing points.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2022 to Question 23427, and with reference to the conclusion of the Statutory Review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator: 2016-2019 that the existence of the GCA had sent a message to large retailers that their supplier relationships needed to be conducted fairly and in accordance with the Code, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the proposals from Traidcraft Exchange to establish a fashion watchdog.
Answered by Jane Hunt
While the adjudicator model has had some success in raising standards in the groceries sector, there are significant differences between those two industries which calls into question how effectively the model can be transferred.
In the response to the single enforcement body consultation published last year, the government reaffirmed its commitment to continue to engage with the enforcement bodies and industry partners to strengthen our understanding of levels of non-compliance across the garment trade. We will continue to review this issue and consider options to drive up standards across the sector.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish the hydrogen sector development action plan.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government aims to publish a Sector Development Action Plan by the end of Summer 2022.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much foreign currency was spent on importing gas between November 2021 and March 2022.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not directly contract for gas. Gas is bought and sold by commercial players. The Government does not have access to data on individual gas market trades. This includes currency used in commercial transactions by gas importers.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 effectiveness of the Grocery Code Adjudicator in regulating the relationship between supermarkets and suppliers.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Groceries Code Adjudicator Act requires the Government to conduct and consult on a review every three years into the operational effectiveness of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA). My officials have begun work on the third statutory review of the GCA covering the period from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2022 and the Government will issue a consultation to seek the views of stakeholders in due course.