Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford 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 effect of volatility in energy prices on the financial sustainability of the UK chemical industry.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Department has not made such an assessment. Industrial energy prices and statistics are published quarterly by BEIS, most recently in September this year and calculations on volatility can be carried out on them.
However energy prices and pricing arrangements paid by businesses in the UK chemical industry are laid out in contracts that are subject to commercial confidentiality. Moreover chemical businesses, like others, can hedge against volatility in energy costs.
The Department has not asked chemical industry businesses to provide these details about its contracts or hedging activity.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
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 low-carbon energy is produced at the lowest possible cost.
Answered by Claire Perry
Through our Contracts for Difference scheme, which is our main mechanism for supporting new renewable electricity generation projects, contracts are awarded in a series of competitive auctions, with the lowest price bids being successful - which drives efficiency and cost reduction. The scheme has been a success, delivering substantial new investment and helping deliver significant reductions in the costs of some renewable technologies.
In addition, the UK is likely to need significant new nuclear capacity in order to meet our carbon reduction commitments. We have always been clear that new nuclear must provide value for money. To that end, the Government’s Nuclear Sector Deal has set out a target for a 30 per cent reduction in the cost of new build projects by 2030. The Government is also considering direct investment in the Wylfa project alongside other parties and is reviewing the viability of a regulated asset base model for future projects.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford 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 effect of energy costs on the financial sustainability of the UK chemical industry.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Ensuring that the UK is competitive on the energy costs faced by manufacturing industry is an important element of our Industrial Strategy.
The Department has made no specific assessments of the effect of energy costs on the sustainability of the UK chemical sector. We know the chemistry sector recognises the value of the work we have undertaken in partnership to reduce energy costs. The recently-launched Chemistry Council Strategy the sector has noted that:
“Government and industry have worked together to help deliver improved energy costs for energy intensive industries (EII). This was delivered through a £7 billion EII compensation package (announced in the Budget 2013), its conversion to an exemption (announced in the Autumn Statement 2015) and subsequently implemented from 2017.”
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
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 support the UK chemical industry with energy costs.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
In the Chemistry Council Strategy the sector has welcomed the UK Clean Growth Strategy and its cost-effective approach to decarbonisation, including a joint Chemical Sector Roadmap Action Plan, with its focus on low carbon opportunities while ensuring affordable and internationally competitive energy.
Since 2013 chemical sector businesses have received have received more than £160 million under the EU’s Emmisions Trading Scheme, Carbon Price Support, Renewables Obligation and Feed-In-Tariffs.
The chemical industry will have the opportunity to benefit from the new Industrial Energy Transformation Fund announced in the Budget. This will help businesses, including those in the chemical sector, that use large amounts of energy to transition to using less.
We anticipate that funding will be available for energy efficiency investments for a range of technologies relevant to the chemical industry, including more efficient compressors and pumps and transformative decarbonisation investments.
Funding, backed by £315 million new money, will be available from 2020/2021, providing the Government time to consult on how the Fund should be implemented and providing businesses, including those in the chemical sector, with the time to prepare proposals.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
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 alternative plans for the development of Hinkley Point in the event that China withdraw its planned investment in that project.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The financing of HPC is a matter for EDF.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
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 increase the energy efficiency of private rented sector dwellings.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property)(England and Wales) Regulations 2015 requires that all landlords of domestic (and non-domestic) privately rented property in England and Wales ensure that, from 1 April 2018, their properties reach at least an energy performance rating of E before granting a tenancy to new or existing tenants, unless a prescribed exemption applies.
The Department is currently developing guidance documents to assist landlords in complying with their obligations under the regulations, and to support enforcement authorities in fulfilling their duties.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that (a) there is a strategy for decommissioning offshore oil and gas rigs around the UK and (b) that decommissioning work is carried out in UK yards.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The UKCS Decommissioning Strategy has been prepared and will be published by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) shortly. The OGA is working through the Decommissioning, Supply Chain and Exports, and Technology Boards to ensure that the UK industry is ready and capable to undertake and safely deliver decommissioning of the UKCS.