Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 4 November 2021 to Question 69684, on Ofgem: Standards, whether he has plans to request an account of the insolvencies in the energy supply market to be made by Ofgem to Parliament.
Answered by Greg Hands
Ministers have regular conversations with Ofgem. As an independent regulator Ofgem is available upon request to give an account of the recent insolvencies in the energy supply market directly to Parliament.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 plans to work with the Office for Product Safety and Standards to review the safety regulations for the use of fireworks in the context of distress caused by fireworks to (a) people with learning disabilities, (b) young children and (c) animals.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government takes the issues associated with the sale and use of fireworks seriously. That is why there is a comprehensive regulatory framework in place that aims to reduce the risks and disturbances to both vulnerable people and animals.
As part of the Government’s programme of action, we continue to commission research and use evidence to inform our work. This has included developing and publishing an evidence base on fireworks and undertaking engagement with a wide range of interested groups, including charities supporting vulnerable groups and animal welfare organisations.
Through our public awareness campaign for the 2021 fireworks season, we promoted the safe and considerate use of fireworks to the general public, to ensure that those using them do so safely and considerately. The campaign was far reaching and had a potential reach of 4.1 million people on Twitter (10 October-7 November 2021).
The Office for Product Safety and Standards is part of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Green Homes Grant deadline for an additional 12 months.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Green Homes Grant Voucher scheme was designed to provide a short-term economic stimulus while tackling our contribution to climate change. However, it was not delivering at the rate and scale the government had originally intended, facing a number of delivery challenges. The scheme closed to new applications on 31 March 2021 and will not reopen.
Last month, the Government published the Heat and Buildings Strategy which allocated more than £3.9 billion of new funding for decarbonising heat and buildings. This will fund the next 3 years of investment through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Home Upgrade Grant scheme, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the Heat Networks Transformation Programme and reducing carbon emissions from public buildings through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 Ofgem market entry requirements which came into effect in January 2021 in preventing company failures.
Answered by Greg Hands
The process for awarding supply licenses, including market entry requirements, is independently set by the regulator Ofgem. Ofgem is the independent regulator of the gas and electricity markets in Great Britain and is accountable to Parliament.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 plans to review Ofgem's processes for awarding licences to energy supply companies (a) in general and (b) for Avro Energy.
Answered by Greg Hands
The process for awarding supply licences is independently set by Ofgem. Ofgem are reviewing their approach to supplier licensing, to ensure that appropriate protections are in place against poor customer service and financial instability. New market entry requirements came into effect in January 2021 focussed on the ongoing requirements on suppliers operating in the market to promote responsible risk management, improved governance and increased accountability.