Judith Cummins

Responsibility for the business effects of energy costs lies with the Department for Business and Trade. Officials there carry out ongoing engagement with trade associations and directly with individual businesses to ensure they stay well informed of the ongoing and potential consequences of high energy costs including on employment.

The UK Emissions Trading Scheme and the EU Emissions Trading System are the main carbon pricing initiatives in the UK and EU respectively. Their traded units are UK Allowances and EU Allowances – both equate to 1 tCO2e. Benchmark prices for each scheme are the front December Futures contracts (currently December 2023) traded on the Intercontinental Exchange.

The median End-of-Day settlement price of UK Allowances, calculated from the start of 2023 until the end of June 2023, is £68.18.

The median End-of-Day settlement price of EU Allowances, calculated from the start of 2023 until the end of June 2023, is £77.92/€89.32.

The Government sets the high-energy-cost threshold to expend the annual spending target. The threshold is set according to the number of rebates available and to prioritise low-income households living in properties estimated to be the highest cost to heat.

The Government uses data on the type, age, and size of properties to estimate relative heating costs and ranks households by the combinations of those property characteristics.

The Government set the threshold for the 2022/23 scheme year and will confirm over the summer whether there will be any adjustment for the 2023/24 scheme year.

Further information can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/warm-home-discount-eligibility-statement-england-and-wales.

I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to her on 9 March 2023 to Question 156174. In addition, the Government expanded the scheme from winter 2022/23 onwards to support more households and increased the value of the rebate to £150.

The Government has expanded the Warm Home Discount scheme this year to support more low-income and vulnerable households. The Government published impact assessments when consulting and publishing the Government’s response, which compared the option for reforming the scheme to continuing the previous scheme.

As households previously applied through their suppliers, who set their own application processes and eligibility criteria and selected successful applicants each year, the Government has not been able to assess how many households previously eligible are no longer eligible.

I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to her on 9 March 2023 to Question 156174. In addition, the Government expanded the scheme from winter 2022/23 onwards to support more households and increased the value of the rebate to £150.

The Government has expanded the Warm Home Discount scheme this year to support more low-income and vulnerable households. The Government published impact assessments when consulting and publishing the Government’s response, which compared the option for reforming the scheme to continuing the previous scheme.

As households previously applied through their suppliers, who set their own application processes and eligibility criteria and selected successful applicants each year, the Government has not been able to assess how many households previously eligible are no longer eligible.

In reforming the scheme, the Government assessed the merits of including households on non-means tested disability benefits and provided details of this assessment in the consultation and impact assessment. Its analysis, based on the English Housing Survey, was that the fuel poverty rates for DLA and PIP recipients in receipt of one of the qualifying means-tested benefits was 41%, compared to 14% for DLA and PIP recipients who are not eligible.

The Government limited eligibility to means-tested benefits, including Housing Benefit, and tax credits below a certain income threshold as the most effective available proxies for low income and to maximise the targeting on fuel poverty. Our analysis based on the English Housing Survey was that the fuel poverty rates for DLA and PIP recipients in receipt of one of the qualifying means-tested benefits was 41%, compared to 14% for DLA and PIP recipients who are not eligible.

The Government has expanded the Warm Home Discount scheme this year to support more low-income and vulnerable households. The Government published impact assessments when consulting and publishing the Government’s response, which compared the option for reforming the scheme to continuing the previous scheme.

As households previously applied through their suppliers, who set their own application processes and eligibility criteria and selected successful applicants each year, the Government has not been able to assess how many households previously eligible are no longer eligible.

The Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales does not exclude households based on their property’s energy efficiency rating. As outlined in the consultation and Government Response on reforming the scheme, eligibility is not based on energy efficiency ratings as Energy Performance Certificates are not available for every domestic property.

Households in receipt of a qualifying means-tested benefit and who live in a property with a high energy cost score may be eligible to receive a rebate. The Government calculates energy cost scores for properties using certain characteristics taken from Valuation Office Agency data: the type, age, and floor area.

In Scotland, energy suppliers can set their own criteria in addition to the minimum eligibility criteria as set in the Regulations, subject to approval by Ofgem.

The Government has reformed the Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales from 2022/23 to focus the support to households at greater risk of fuel poverty and to provide most rebates automatically. Households both in receipt of a qualifying means-tested benefit and who live in a property with a high energy cost score may be eligible to receive a rebate.

Extending the scheme to all recipients of Universal Credit would decrease the proportion of recipients in fuel poverty and increase the cost of the scheme significantly.

In Scotland, energy suppliers can set their own criteria in addition to the minimum eligibility criteria as set in the Regulations, subject to approval by Ofgem.

The Government is committed to delivering support for those households without a direct relationship to a domestic energy supplier as quickly as possible. The Government is focused on continuing to work closely with local authorities to ensure that they are suitably prepared to deliver support to eligible households. Further updates on the scheme's launch will be provided in due course and, therefore, no assessment will be made.

The Government committed to establish Great British Nuclear in the British Energy Security. This new body will be charged with helping nuclear projects through the development process and realising the Government’s ambition of generating up to 24GW of nuclear-sourced energy by 2050.

The Government will follow HM Treasury Green Book guidance to assess the value for money and deliverability of future nuclear projects. The Government is in constructive commercial negotiations on the Sizewell C project, which proposes to use the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) funding model established by the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Act 2022. In addition to satisfying the Green Book guidance, all projects seeking to use the RAB model must demonstrate that they are both sufficiently advanced and likely to result in value for money, against the criteria set out in Nuclear RAB Model: statement on procedure and criteria for designation.

The Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) supports late-stage R&D and capital investments across strategically important parts of the electric vehicle supply chain. Securing battery cell manufacturing (gigafactories) is a priority, with targeted investment in battery materials, motors, drives, power electronics and hydrogen fuel cells and storage also required. Information about open funding competitions and further detail on scope and eligibility can be found on the IFS portal: https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/search.

As part of the Net Zero Strategy, the Government announced a further £350m to be delivered through the ATF over the next three years to support development of an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain here in the UK. This is additional to the £500m announced as part of my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan.

The funding for ATF is part of the up to £1 billion committed by the Government to ensure that the UK takes advantage of this once in a generation opportunity.

The published official statistics to date do not include a breakdown of applications by region and type of measure.

However, the latest official statistics release shows that as of 7 October 2021, no biomass boilers were installed in Yorkshire and the Humber.

The official statistics published to date do not include a breakdown of all voucher applications by type but instead focus on those that are active within the system for work to be completed.

As of 7 October 2021, there were eight live voucher applications for biomass boilers – these are vouchers that were not rejected or withdrawn following the initial application.

Of these eight live applications, six had a voucher issued with all six subsequently installed.

The UK Government worked closely with the scheme administrator to ensure voucher applications were processed as quickly as possible.

The average time between homeowners applying for a Green Homes Grant voucher and the voucher being issued was 89 days.

As of 7 October 2021, there were eight live voucher applications for biomass boilers – these are vouchers that were not rejected or withdrawn following the initial application.

Of these eight live applications, six had a voucher issued with all six subsequently installed. Two vouchers have expired.

The official statistics published to date do not include a breakdown of all voucher applications by type of measure installed. The statistics refer to applications that were submitted to the Green Homes Grant scheme, but for which installation has not yet been completed.

As of 7 October 2021, there were eight live voucher applications for biomass boilers – these are vouchers that were not rejected or withdrawn following the initial application.

Over the course of the pandemic the Government has provided an unprecedented package of support to businesses, including those in the wedding sector, which it keeps under regular review.

I meet regularly with representatives of the wedding sector to understand the impact of COVID-19 on wedding businesses.

I meet regularly with the industry-led Weddings Taskforce, established to represent all parts of the UK Weddings sector, to understand the impact of COVID-19 on wedding businesses.

According to Cabinet Office’s guide for the new national restrictions, they are classed as personal care services. As their guide states, the Government cannot provide comments on individual cases of whether or not a business is permitted to open. It is for each business to assess whether they are a business required to close having considered the guidance and Regulations.

The UK is currently experiencing a public health emergency as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is critical that employers, employees, the self-employed and clients take steps to keep everyone safe.

Incidence rates are growing and the NHS is under increasing pressure. From 5^th November to 2^nd December, non-essential retail and stores must close including close contact services such as hair, beauty, spa and wellness services. At the end of the period, we will look to return to a local and regional approach, based on the latest data.

Our guidance for the sector has a specific section, 3.3., covering equality in the workplace.

Cabinet Office guidance behind the new national restrictions has been brought because Government assessed that we had to take action immediately to protect the NHS and to get R decisively below 1.

The Government has, however, enabled click and collected services, as well as training and education (see guide) to enable COVID-secure businesses in this sector to operate where possible.

The expenditure with our primary market research provider, Kantar UK LTD, between January 2019 and March 2020 was £4 million. The table below shows spend by month. We are unable to breakdown the expenditure into the activities undertaken by the supplier.