Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households have been classified as being in fuel poverty; and how many of those households include (a) children and (b) people aged over 60 in each of the last three years.
Answered by Claire Perry
This is publicly available information: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fuel-poverty-trends-2018
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many applications for community and industry-led wind farms in Lancashire have been received in the last three years; what the outcome of those applications was; and what progress has been made on delivering the agreed benefits to the local community of any such successful applications.
Answered by Claire Perry
Three planning applications were submitted for onshore wind farms in Lancashire between October 2015 and October 2018 according to the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD):
Table 1: Planning applications for onshore wind farms in Lancashire submitted between October 2015 and October 2017
Site name | Installed capacity (MW) | Planning application submitted | Status |
Lower Alt Wind Farm | 42 | 14/12/2015 | Application Refused |
Hameldon Hill Wind Farm | 7.1 | 13/06/2016 | Awaiting Construction |
Hoddlesdon Moss (Resubmission) | 2.7 | 29/06/2016 | Application Withdrawn |
The REPD tracks applications for renewable energy projects as they move through the planning system. It shows projects that have applied for planning permission in the previous month or earlier for projects with a capacity greater than, or equal to, 1MW. The REPD does not differentiate between projects that are community and industry-led.
Community benefits are a matter to be agreed between a project developer and the local community, and are not material considerations in any planning decision.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 17 April 2018 to Question 136214 on Insulation: Preston, how many properties in the Fishwick area are awaiting emergency efficiency retrofit work to be carried out and when this work is expected to be completed.
Answered by Claire Perry
All the emergency energy efficiency retrofit work required in the original 62 properties identified was completed in Summer 2018. All retrofit work was carried out in accordance with building regulations, including the fire safety and ventilation requirements.
Analysis has been undertaken on the basis of the work on the first properties to estimate the extent of work that might be needed on the other properties. Discussions between Ofgem, BEIS and energy suppliers continue regarding securing funding for further work.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 shale gas extraction on the UK’s ability to meet its climate change targets.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Government believes that shale gas has the potential to be a home-grown energy source which can lead to jobs and economic growth, contribute to our security of supply, and help us achieve our climate change objectives.
The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has considered whether shale gas production at a significant scale can be compatible with the UK’s carbon budgets, and has conducted that it can if certain conditions are met, which they have set out as three “tests”. These are:
We believe that our robust regulatory regime and determination to meet our carbon budgets mean those tests can and will be met. As such, we welcome the conclusions, and also the CCC’s belief that shale gas could make a useful contribution to UK energy supplies.
We welcome the recent publication of the IPCC’s special report on 1.5ºC. It sets out the strong case for pursing efforts to limiting global warming to 1.5°C, as set out in the Paris Agreement, and reiterates that current global efforts are not enough to meet this unprecedented challenge. The UK’s way forward is set out in the Clean Growth Strategy and we have committed to asking the Committee on Climate Change for advice on our long-term targets in light of this new evidence.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 of the effect the implementation of self-service checkouts by retailers on levels of employment.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Government monitors employment in the retail sector through statistics provided annually by the Office for National Statistics, which show that over the last 10 years retail employment has remained broadly consistent at between 3.2 and 3.3 million.
We are working to make skills training available for those whose jobs may be affected by new technologies. Both our Industrial Strategy and the AI Sector Deal set out how we are helping people develop the skills needed for the jobs of the future, including retraining and researching the impact of automation across sectors.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that boron is not included in play slime.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The UK has strict legal safety requirements for toys. Under the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 manufacturers or distributers must ensure that any toys placed on the UK market are safe. This includes not exceeding maximum migration limits for boron in liquid or sticky toy materials.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban glitter.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Under product safety legislation, manufacturers and distributors have a responsibility to only place safe products on the market.
Legislation banning the manufacture and sale of rinse-off personal care products containing microbeads has been introduced in England under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Under this legislation, the manufacture and sale of rinse-off personal care products containing glitter which falls within the definition of a plastic microbead is banned.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 introduce a fair funerals pledge to obligate funeral directors to advertise their lowest-price funeral packages.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s independent competition authority, has recently launched a market study into the funerals market. The study will investigate whether the practices of funeral directors around transparency of pricing information prevents people from making informed choices when purchasing funeral services. It will consider what further help can be provided to support those already facing very challenging circumstances.
The Government is committed to ensuring well functioning markets and will consider the recommendations of the CMA upon conclusion of the study.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 April 2018 to Question 136214 on Insulation: Preston, whether the remaining properties includes all of the properties affected in the Fishwick area; and what the timeframe is for the completion of the structural surveys.
Answered by Claire Perry
We are aware of around 300 remaining properties in the Fishwick area who received support under the Community Energy Saving Programme. That programme imposed obligations on large electricity generators and energy suppliers to promote insulation measures, and it came to an end in 2012. Under the scheme, solid wall measures were required to have a guarantee in place, but since those related to the product rather than the workmanship we understand they do not provide a remedy in these cases.
The Department continues to monitor any progress being made, and will look at where we can appropriately support facilitation of works to rectify the issues.
However, action to assess and remedy problems with the properties concerned is ultimately a matter for the parties involved in delivery of the works. I understand that there are ongoing discussions between the parties involved to explore what support may be available for further work across these properties.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department had with Preston City Council on the external cladding installed on the exterior of properties in the Fishwick, St Matthews and Town Centre wards under the Community Energy Saving Programme; and what assessment has been made of whether properties are unsafe to reside in due to risk of fire or mould.
Answered by Claire Perry
The CESP programme is an energy efficiency scheme that obligated the largest gas and electricity suppliers and electricity generators to deliver energy saving measures to domestic consumers, in specific low income areas of Britain. The Department would not have been directly involved in discussions with local authorities or other stakeholders on specific installations although there was public consultation on the overall design of the scheme. The scheme concluded in December 2012.
Preston City Council raised concerns with Ofgem (the scheme administrator) about mould in properties following completion of the retrofit works. Since then work has been undertaken under a collaborative effort to fix the problem. The work on these properties has taken longer than anticipated due to the seriousness of the issues affecting the structure of some properties. The first 62 properties are expected to be complete by the end of May, and structural surveys are being planned for the remaining properties.
Energy efficiency retrofit work undertaken must be carried out in accordance with building regulations, including the fire safety and ventilation requirements.