Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
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 effect on investment in the north west of a commitment to develop a hydrogen village in that region.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government is supporting industry to deliver community trials of 100% hydrogen heating. BEIS and Ofgem received Gas Distribution Network Operators’ outline proposals for the village trial in December 2021. The Government expects that one or more of these will be selected to be developed into detailed proposals. The final decision on where the village trial will take place is expected in 2023 ahead of a trial start date of 2025.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
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 environmental benefits of remote working.
Answered by Paul Scully
Assessing the environmental benefits of remote working is complex. Account needs to be taken of issues beyond commuter transport – for instance, the energy efficiency of our housing compared with that of commercial buildings and the increase in local travel which home-working can bring. Overall, the evidence on the net environmental benefits is mixed.
The policy opportunities associated with homeworking from a climate perspective are more likely to concern how we promote low carbon actions and behaviours when people are working from home, rather than simply asking people to work remotely.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
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 adequacy of outreach post office services as a substitute for traditional post offices in (a) the Tatton constituency and (b) rural constituencies more widely.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is committed to safeguarding the Post Office network and protecting existing rural services as we recognise the important role post offices play in serving their communities. The Government promotes access to rural post offices by setting accessibility criteria which the Post Office must meet. This ensures that in rural areas over 95% of people are within 3 miles of their nearest post office service. In remote and rural areas where it is difficult to deliver services to consumers via a permanent site, Post Office Limited use outreach services, such as a mobile van, or a village hall. These offer the same products and services as bricks-and-mortar branches. Within the Tatton constituency, there is one outreach service in Chelford.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
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 ensure that vulnerable people without an address can still access postal services.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government recognises how important access to post is for all, especially for those that are homeless or without stable abode. Government is working with a wide range of stakeholders to consider how to support these vulnerable groups. The universal postal service is intended to provide an accessible postal service for all.
Royal Mail operates two services to help vulnerable customers access their post. The first is its redirection service, which can be specially accessed by people with personal safety concerns. The second is its PO Box service, which provides options for vulnerable customers and is designed to meet specific circumstances and preferences.
The Government will continue to work with a wide range of stakeholder to find the best ways to support vulnerable people.