Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding he plans to allocate to new tidal power technology in 2023.
Answered by Graham Stuart
In December 2022 the Government published the core parameters for all technologies for the fifth Contracts for Difference allocation round (AR), including for tidal stream:
The final Budget Notice containing full details about AR5 auction parameters will be published in March 2023.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 impact of proportionately smaller energy charges such as smart meter usage fees on (a) the ability of customers to pay their energy bills and (b) the wider cost of living crisis.
Answered by Graham Stuart
There is no smart meter usage fee for energy consumers. Consumers' bills include the costs of providing and maintaining a live supply for metering points whether they are smart or traditional. These costs represent a small proportion of overall bills.
The Government is committed to protecting consumers from the impact of high energy prices and provided £37 billion in cost of living support last year. This included introducing the Energy Price Guarantee, which protects customers from increases in energy costs by limiting the amount suppliers can charge per unit of energy used and the average standing charges for customers on default tariffs.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of increasing (a) consultation and (b) ongoing involvement of local people when setting up an onshore wind farm.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Onshore wind developers should engage with local communities as the UK increases renewable deployment to meet net zero. The Government has set regulations that require onshore wind developers to consult earlier with the local community. It has also published guidance to ensure that local people are involved throughout the process of development.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to support local swimming pools with the cost of energy.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will provide a price reduction to ensure that all eligible businesses and other non-domestic customers, including swimming pools, are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 merits of increasing Government support for the (a) electric vehicle and (b) vehicle batteries manufacturing industries to help meet the Government's net zero targets.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
We are determined to ensure the UK remains one of the best locations in the world for automotive manufacturing as we transition to electric vehicles. As part of this, we continue to work with investors through the Automotive Transformation Fund to progress plans to build a globally competitive electric vehicle supply chain in the UK. In 2021 the Net Zero Strategy announced £350 of funding in the Automotive Transformation Fund. This funding is additional to the £500m announced in 2020 for this programme as part of the 10 Point Plan.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the risk of claims being made against the UK in the context of the Energy Charter Treaty in the next financial year.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The United Kingdom has investment agreements with Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions with over 90 trading partners, including within the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). There has never been a successful ISDS claim brought against the United Kingdom.
Negotiations have recently been completed to modernise the investment protection and dispute settlement provisions in the ECT. This modernisation seeks to provide greater clarity on the standards of protection afforded to investors and reduce the scope for claims which lack legal merit. The UK is monitoring developments regarding the adoption of the modernised treaty, including the positions of other Contracting Parties.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to take steps to (a) provide support to local businesses and (b) find opportunities to reopen closed pubs.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
This Department is working with the Hospitality Sector Council to deliver on our 2021 Hospitality Strategy to improve the resilience of hospitality businesses.
The Government recognise that businesses on the high street, including those in hospitality, are facing cost pressures driven by global factors, including high energy and cost of living pressures.
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme ensures that all businesses and other non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period.
My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer recently announced in his Autumn Statement that the Government will be taking steps to help rate payers with a package worth £13.6 billion in total.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 merits of installing solar panels along (a) motorways and (b) industrial units, rather than on agricultural land.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Solar is a key part of the energy mix and needs sustained growth in both ground mount and rooftop capacity to meet our energy security and net zero goals.
Installing solar panels along roads has been tested in some countries but experienced practical problems, including rapid panel deterioration due to heavy traffic vibrations and difficulties in accessing sites for maintenance.
The Government is supporting the installation of panels on the roofs of industrial units where this is technically feasible through a business rate exemption until 2035 and tax relief.
The Government is also reviewing existing permitted development rights to simplify planning and enable more rooftop solar deployment on industrial buildings.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 the potential merits of compulsory solar panels on new commercial buildings.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is encouraging businesses to install solar panels on their roof stock, for example through business rate exemptions and tax relief. However, a blanket requirement to deploy solar photovoltaic panels on every roof is impractical. Some roofs are not suitable because of shading, orientation and location.
In December 2021 Government introduced an uplift in energy efficiency standards for new builds, which came into force on 15 June 2022.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 sustainable biomass energy generation does not lead to deforestation.
Answered by Graham Stuart
In order to receive support, biomass electricity generators are required to comply with the UK’s strict sustainability criteria, which ensure that only sustainable biomass is used by the generators.
Where woody biomass is sourced from forests, to receive support, the forests must be managed in accordance with sustainable management practices that require the maintenance and replanting of the forest, demonstration that deforestation is not occurring, and that biodiversity, soil and water are protected, among other requirements.
The forthcoming Biomass Strategy will set out recommendations for further enhancing the UK’s stringent biomass sustainability criteria.