Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
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 24 October to question 59611 on Energy Bills Rebate, if he will take steps to ensure that households which have different energy meters for their home and garage or other building attached to the original dwelling do not receive two or more Energy Bill Support Scheme payments.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to him on 24 October to Question 59611.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
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 fairness of households which have different energy suppliers for their (a) home and (b) garage and receive two Energy Bill Support Scheme payments as a result; and whether he will take steps to prevent this from occurring.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is possible for individuals to benefit more than once from EBSS, where an individual is responsible for separate domestic contracts relating to more than one property.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of making multiple Energy Bills Support Scheme payments to households that have more than one energy supplier.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Eligibility for EBSS payment is determined on the basis of a Domestic Customer who is party to a Domestic Supply Contract or a Deemed Contract for electricity supply which relates to a Domestic Premises. Only one Domestic Customer per Domestic Supply Contract or Deemed Contract per Domestic Premises is considered an eligible customer. There may be highly limited supply meters and separate contracts with domestic electricity suppliers, however, these circumstances were considered so rare as to not requiring specific consideration.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the number of households with multiple energy suppliers.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department have not made an estimation. Energy customers are free to choose a different supplier for each meter in their household.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
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 take steps to expedite the Redundancy Payment Scheme for workers at the Dawnfresh site in Uddingston.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Redundancy Payments Service aims to process all claims within 6 weeks of receipt. Before making any payments, the Redundancy Payments Service requires certain documents from the Insolvency Practitioner administering the insolvency, to validate employees’ claims. The Redundancy Payments Service received these documents on Monday 21 March and the first payments were issued on that date; the first claim having been made on 3 March. By 23 March, 311 separate payments totalling £658,002.42 (gross) had been made on the case.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Scottish Limited Partnerships have failed to provide a Person of Significant Control.
Answered by Paul Scully
I refer the Hon. Member to the reply I gave the Hon. Member for Glasgow Central on 3 March 2022 to Question UIN 131219.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Warm Homes Discount will continue to apply in full to individuals and organisations in Scotland after 31 March 2022.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has committed to extending the Warm Home Discount to at least 2025/26 and expanding the scheme spending envelope from the current £350 million to £475 million (in 2020 prices) per year. This will enable the Government to provide around 3 million rebates each winter across Great Britain, which is an increase of a third compared to the current scheme.
The Government has consulted on apportioning a fair amount of the overall £475 million annual funding to Scotland for a Warm Home Discount scheme in Scotland from the 2022/23 scheme year. The Government is agreeing a position with the Scottish Government on the future scheme. Any scheme in Scotland would be consulted on. Should the UK Government implement a scheme for Scotland, the intention would be to have consulted and have Regulations in place in advance of the summer Parliamentary recess.
The current scheme is continuing to operate across Great Britain for 2021/22.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether continued membership of Interreg programmes will be possible for UK-based organisations following the UK's departure from the EU.
Answered by Paul Scully
Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement January 2020 it was agreed that the UK would remain in European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF) programmes in the Multiannual Funding Framework (MFF) 2014-2020. This includes Interreg programmes also known as European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) programmes. Spending on these programmes will continue until December 2023 and after this they will be closed.
The UK will not be participating in ESIF programmes in the next MFF 2021-2027, including ETC programmes, except for the Peace Plus programme in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has policy responsibility for Peace Plus.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the total cost of the Government's Carbon Capture and Storage programme is to 2030; and what the funding allocation is to each of the two successful bidders from the Track one process.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) clusters will have the opportunity to negotiate for capital support from the £1bn CCS Infrastructure Fund, as well as from the twin-track £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund. In addition, further capital support may be brought forward in future spending review period, based on government’s assessment of need and value for money to the taxpayer.
No funding allocation has yet been decided on track 1 cluster. Track-1 clusters will now enter a process of negotiations and further due diligence, where the government will confirm where it is appropriate to provide financial support, and the level of support required to facilitate cluster deployment by the mid-2020s.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with representatives of Scottish retail, tourism and hospitality industries in response to their concerns about a lack of footfall in Scotland’s major cities.
Answered by Paul Scully
Ministers engage regularly with various representatives of the business, hospitality, retail and tourism industries in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland including local Chambers of Commerce, and branches of the Confederation of British Industry, Federation of Small Business and Institute of Directors on business and economic issues. In addition, DCMS Ministers who are responsible for tourism engage with Scottish tourism industry representatives via the Tourism Industry Council.