Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes were retrofitted using funding through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator in Kingston upon Hull North constituency as of 24 November 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator and Wave 1 awarded a combined total of around £240m of grant funding to Local Authorities, with data held on local authority-led projects rather than at a constituency level. The SHDF Wave 2.1 competition, which closed on 18th November 2022, will allocate up to £800m of grant funding, with successful projects likely to be notified in March 2023.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Kingston upon Hull North constituency have had heat pumps installed as of 31 October 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database shows that as of 31 October 2022, 39 heat pump installations were registered in the Kingston upon Hull North constituency.
The database does not include all heat pump installations, for example, those installed without Government funding support, such as in new buildings, which are not typically recorded in the Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
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 increase the number of green jobs in Kingston upon Hull North constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government does not collect data with the level of granularity required to discuss green employment figures for Kingston upon Hull North specifically. BEIS is working with DfE and local partners to ensure green skills are considered through Local Skills Improvement Plans. The Secretary of State for Education may only approve a Plan if satisfied that net zero targets, adaptation to climate change, and other environmental goals have been considered.
Latest official statistics show there are already around 430,000 jobs in low carbon businesses and their supply chains across the country, and the Government is working with the Green Jobs Delivery Group to explore how central government, local government and businesses can further support local areas to deliver a successful net zero labour market transition.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
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 is taking to help ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises are receiving the correct level of support from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme in Kingston upon Hull North constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme is in legislation and will be applied in a uniform way by all licensed suppliers. The regulations include a robust compliance and enforcement regime to ensure requirements are being met. Suppliers are also required to inform customers about the details of support, including the amount of the discount and discounted supply price.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
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 jobs that have been created in Kingston upon Hull North constituency as a result of the implementation of the ten point plan for a green industrial revolution, published on 18 November 2020.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is providing significant investment for the offshore renewable, low-carbon, energy production and carbon capture industries across East Yorkshire and the Humber.
Zero Carbon Humber has been awarded £21m of Government funding to support its aim to turn the Humber region into a net zero cluster by 2040. Zero Carbon Humber also collaborates on the East Coast Cluster, selected as one of the first two carbon capture, usage, and storage clusters to be taken forward by the UK government.
The Humber Freeport will also support low carbon economic growth whilst creating over 1,000 high-quality employment opportunities.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which industry in Kingston upon Hull North constituency receives the most Government funding as of 7 December 2022.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Government does not collect data on industrial investment at constituency level. Residents in Kingston upon Hull North benefit from numerous streams of funding to support local growth including £19.5m through the Levelling Up Fund for the regeneration of Hull City Centre and £10.6m through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to focus on local priorities. To support research, development and innovation, £28 million of UK Research and Innovation funding has been invested in East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire between 2019 and 2021. Regional data is not yet available for UK Research and Innovation investment beyond this.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to increase funding for renewable energy sources in Kingston upon Hull North constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Grant funding for renewable innovation or community-based renewable schemes is open for both local authorities and private investors to bid. The Contract for Difference scheme, the Government’s main mechanism for supporting low carbon generation, is awarded through a competitive process, ensuring that the most cost-effective projects are supported regardless of their location.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
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 homes that have had solar power panels installed in Kingston upon Hull North constituency as of 31 October 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
At the end of October 2022, there were 1,016 domestic installations of solar panels recorded in Kingston upon Hull North constituency.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
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 recent discussions with businesses in Kingston upon Hull North constituency on the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on those businesses.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the impact rising prices are having on businesses, including those in Kingston upon Hull North, and is engaging with businesses across the UK to understand these challenges and explore ways to mitigate them.
The Government has reversed the National Insurance rise, saving SMEs £4,200 on average; cut fuel duty for 12 months; and brought in the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which is shielding businesses across the country from soaring energy prices, saving some around half of their wholesale energy costs. The Employment Allowance was increased to £5,000 from April and we have continued to provide business rate relief worth over £7bn, freezing the business rates multiplier for a further year.
We have also announced £13.6 billion of support for businesses over the next five years, reducing the burden of business rates for SMEs.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
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 businesses that are owned by black and ethnic minority people in Kingston upon Hull North constituency.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not hold regional information on the proportion of BME-owned businesses in Kingston upon Hull North. Government is aware of the challenges faced by ethnic minority businesses and is taking action to support them. Ministers regularly engage with ethnic minority business leaders and networks to better understand the issues facing them.
We are working with stakeholders to agree interventions to improve access to finance. Since its launch (2012) the Start Up Loans programme has issued around 20% of its loans to Black, Asian, and Ethnic-minority business worth £187,043,936.
We are also delivering actions set out in the Inclusive Britain report (2022), which aim to support ethnic minority entrepreneurs.