Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether people who have sent complaints to his Department on the mis-selling of Green Deal loans by Helms receive direct correspondence from the Financial Ombudsman Service in relation to their case.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
For complaints about mis-selling, the Financial Ombudsman Service is responsible for initial reviews. For many, but not all, complaints about other Green Deal matters, such as installation quality, the Green Deal Ombudsman is contracted to complete initial reviews.
In all cases, decisions regarding whether a breach has occurred and, if so, whether a sanction should be imposed, are the responsibility of my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State.
Complainants do not receive direct correspondence from the Financial Ombudsman Service as part of the reviews of complaints submitted to the Secretary of State. In addition to the work it completes on complaints to the Secretary of State, the Financial Ombudsman Service more generally handles Green Deal complaints about financing issues as part of its statutory role under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Some such complaints may subsequently be referred to the Secretary of State for review and may be the subject of associated correspondence between the Financial Ombudsman Service and the complainant, but such correspondence stands outside of the formal review process.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of correspondence acknowledging receipt of a complaint on Green Deal loan mis-selling has been sent by his Department within 15 days in line with departmental targets.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Department does not record data on correspondence acknowledging receipt of a complaint on Green Deal loan mis-selling which has been sent by this Department. Complaints on Green Deal mis-selling can be received through a number of routes, including email, post, and official Department and Ministerial correspondence.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the role is of the Financial Ombudsman Service in handling complaints received by his Department in relation to the Green Deal.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
For complaints about mis-selling, the Financial Ombudsman Service is responsible for initial reviews. For many, but not all, complaints about other Green Deal matters, such as installation quality, the Green Deal Ombudsman is contracted to complete initial reviews.
In all cases, decisions regarding whether a breach has occurred and, if so, whether a sanction should be imposed, are the responsibility of my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State.
Complainants do not receive direct correspondence from the Financial Ombudsman Service as part of the reviews of complaints submitted to the Secretary of State. In addition to the work it completes on complaints to the Secretary of State, the Financial Ombudsman Service more generally handles Green Deal complaints about financing issues as part of its statutory role under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Some such complaints may subsequently be referred to the Secretary of State for review and may be the subject of associated correspondence between the Financial Ombudsman Service and the complainant, but such correspondence stands outside of the formal review process.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what redress is available for people who have inherited a property associated with a Green Deal loan where there is concern that the person from whom they inherited the property was potentially mis-sold that loan.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
Under the Green Deal Framework regulations, loans can be reduced or cancelled where there has been a breach of the relevant rules, and my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State is satisfied that the consumer has suffered, or is likely to suffer, a substantive loss. This applies to any complaint which meets the eligibility requirements regardless of whether it concerns a Green Deal Plan that was in place at a property prior to a complainant inheriting that property.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire 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 complaints he has received in relation to Green Deal mis-selling by Helms where the complainant was not the person in whose name the original credit agreement was made.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Department does not record data on the number of complaints about mis-selling of Green Deal Plans by Home Energy & Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS) received from complainants who did not enter the original credit agreement as the property “improver”. Complaints to my Rt, Hon. Friend the Secretary of State can be made under the Green Deal Framework regulations by original improvers or subsequent bill payers (other eligibility criteria must also met).
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether complaints to his Department or the Green Deal Finance Company on Green Deal mis-selling are restricted by the amount of time elapsed since the signing of an agreement by a customer.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The legislative context within which redress can be sought in regard to mis-selling under the Green Deal is set out in The Green Deal Framework, based on provisions in the Energy Act 2011, Framework Regulations and Code of Practice.
Section 4.9 of the Green Deal Code of Practice lays out the time provisions within which a complaint must be made to be considered eligible. This confirms that a complaint must be made, by any category of person identified in the provisions, within six years of the date on which the alleged breach occurred. There are separate considerations where a complaint concerns matters relevant to specific Guarantees.
The Green Deal Finance Company, as a private company, have their own complaints procedure.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK Government's single market proposals on the movement of agricultural goods.
Answered by Paul Scully
The UK Internal Market Bill ensures the UK can operate as a coherent internal market, guaranteeing UK companies can trade unhindered in every part of the UK while maintaining world-leading standards for consumers, workers, food and the environment.
The UK has some of the highest standards in the world on goods and some of the most robust standards on foods, with world-leading food, animal and plant health and animal welfare standards.