Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many officials in the Business British Bank sponsoring team within his Department have a professional background in banking regulation; and how that number has changed in each of the last three years.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government’s sponsorship team for the British Business Bank is split across the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and UK Government Investments (UKGI). Currently four colleagues on the team have private sector professional experience in the financial services sector (2021: four, 2020: two). The BBB is not (and has never been) a regulated bank, given its wholesale model, i.e. ordinarily delivering through delivery partners, with no direct relationship with SME borrowers. Neither BEIS nor UKGI perform the function of a regulator with respect to BBB.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the levels of floating offshore wind deployment required by 2035 to meet the Sixth Carbon Budget.
Answered by Greg Hands
By 2035, all our electricity will need to come from low carbon sources, subject to security of supply. A low-cost, net zero consistent electricity system is most likely to be composed predominantly of wind (fixed bottom and floating) and solar generation. The UK is already generating enough electricity from offshore wind to power every home in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland twice over.
To help keep us on track for our Carbon Budget 6 and net zero targets we will need to deploy substantial volumes of floating offshore wind. Our 2030 target for floating offshore wind is a stepping stone to further growth in the UK, which will develop opportunities in the associated industrial supply chain putting us at the forefront of this new technology.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish its analysis of potential offshore wind development scenarios which could be in place by 2050.
Answered by Greg Hands
This study is led by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland, with consultancy support from Arup. It is part of the Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme, and is due to be completed in spring 2022.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
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 plans to take to ensure that households on pay as you go meter tariffs will receive the £200 energy bill discount.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government is developing this policy with key industry and consumer stakeholders to ensure it can be delivered in a convenient way for customers and can get the benefit to eligible households, including those on pre-payment meters. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will consult on the scheme in the spring.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish an update of the reforms to the Electrical Performance Certificate (EPC) to take into account the performance of heat pumps and other renewable electrical sources.
Answered by Greg Hands
Electrical Performance Certificates (EPCs) use an Energy Efficient Rating to measure energy performance based on the estimated running costs of the building. Since energy costs can be a significant outlay, it is important homeowners and occupiers are aware of the running costs of their property. Using the Energy Efficient Rating ensures that recommendations generated by the EPC lead to a reduction in energy cost. Given the higher cost of electricity relative to gas, the presence of a heat pump may result in a lower Energy Efficient Rating without additional measures to reduce energy demand, such as insulation.
The Government has recently reinstated the Environmental Impact Rating on the EPC, which measures energy performance based on carbon dioxide emissions, and recognises lower carbon measures such as heat pumps. Recent consultations on policies that use EPCs have sought views on alternative metric options to both reduce emissions and keep energy bills low. The responses to these consultations are being analysed and Government responses will be published in due course.