Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information her Department holds on the number of reports of faulty smart meters in (a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Preston in the last 12 months; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure energy companies are accountable for the quality of smart meters they install.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Almost 9 in 10 smart meters are sending automatic readings, but those that don’t will still be accurately measuring consumers’ energy, like a traditional meter.
The Government is working closely with industry to drive down the number of smart meters not sending automatic readings. The numbers are improving but more progress is needed.
Energy suppliers have an obligation to take all reasonable steps to operate smart meters in smart mode and Ofgem are responsible for regulating suppliers against this obligation.
The Government does not hold geographic data on smart meters that aren’t sending automatic readings.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to reduce the incidence of circulatory and respiratory diseases as a result of poor insulation in (a) Preston and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Insulation is the most common and cost-effective means of improving energy efficiency in people’s homes.
Installers under current government schemes must be registered with TrustMark and comply with Publicly Available Specification 2035, which adopts a whole house approach to ensure appropriate ventilation when retrofit work is being carried out. This minimises the risks of unintended consequences such as mould and damp. Installers must also be PAS 2030 certified.
Should a consumer and a TrustMark registered business have a dispute about the installation which cannot be resolved through their own resolution mechanism then TrustMark provides a further dispute resolution process.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing home insulation to low-income households who have have poorly insulated homes.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government considers energy efficiency as the best way to tackle fuel poverty, contributing to the long-term reduction of energy bills as well as reducing carbon emissions in line with Net Zero. There are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. Schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Great British Insulation Scheme and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the potential of rooftop solar panels to help (a) tackle climate change, (b) cut energy bills, and (c) create jobs.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Rooftop solar panels can play a significant role in helping to mitigate climate change and reducing energy bills, while creating jobs.
That is why the Government is aiming for 70 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2035 and has established a joint Government-industry taskforce, with a subgroup focussed specifically on rooftop solar, to drive forward deployment.
The Government is also working to publish a solar roadmap this spring, setting out a clear step by step deployment trajectory.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made an estimate of the number of people living in fuel poverty in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire, (c) the North West and (d) England; and what steps she is taking to help tackle fuel poverty.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The latest official Fuel Poverty Statistics for England were published in February 2023 on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics#2022-Statistics
The latest statistics for the number of households in fuel poverty at administrative levels in England, are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-2022
Updated statistics on fuel poverty in England and its regions will be published on 15 February 2024.
The Government sees energy efficiency as a key way to tackle fuel poverty and measures are delivered through targeted schemes including the Energy Company Obligation.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the eligibility criteria for the Warm Home Discount for winter 2024-25.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
From winter 2022 the Government extended the Warm Home Discount to support more households in fuel poverty, who have low incomes and live in homes that are costly to heat. This winter we lowered the threshold for a property to be considered costly to heat and we expect over 3 million households to receive the rebate, around a million more households compared with the previous scheme prior to winter 2022.
As the scheme is funded by participating energy suppliers, we have struck a balance between supporting as many households as possible, providing meaningful support, and limiting the impact on wider consumer bills.
Energy prices have significantly fallen in the past year. We are continuing to monitor the situation and will keep options under review, including with respect to the most vulnerable households.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to support homeowners, in the context of the Government's commitment to reach net zero by 2050.
Answered by Graham Stuart
In his speech on 20 September, my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister announced measures which will help avoid imposing significant costs on families.
Details have been announced on an additional £6bn of support, from 2025-2028, to help around a million families and hundreds of businesses to cut their energy use.
The Government has also increased the grants available for heat pumps to £7,500.
Further support is available at: https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent steps she has taken with Cabinet colleagues to encourage the creation of green (a) jobs, (b) investment and (c) skills in (i) Preston, (ii) Lancashire, (iii) the North West and (iv) England.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government’s net zero target depends on having the right workforce with the right skills in the right locations across the country. Over 80,000 green jobs are currently being supported or are in the pipeline across the UK, as a result of new government policies and spending since November 2020.
To tackle emerging and future workforce demands, the Government, working with the Green Jobs Delivery Group, is focused on the creation of a Green Jobs Plan. This plan will provide the actions needed to ensure we have the sufficiently skilled workforce to deliver on the Government’s targets.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department has taken to help ensure the UK meets its international climate commitments since COP26 in November 2021.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK reports every two years on progress towards its international targets and on international climate finance to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The UK will report under the Enhanced Transparency Framework, part of the Paris Agreement which comes into force this year.
The Government continuously reviews delivery of the UK’s domestic and international climate strategy and commitments at Cabinet level, including through the Domestic and Economic Affairs (Energy, Climate and Net Zero) Committee, chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill with the UK's 2050 net zero target.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill is consistent with meeting net zero by 2050. Climate Change Committee data shows that the UK will need oil and gas even when it reaches net zero. North Sea Transition Authority analysis shows that domestically produced natural gas is almost four times cleaner than importing liquified natural gas. Even with continued development, oil and gas production is expected to decline by 7% a year and to fall by nearly 90% by 2050. This is faster than the average annual global decline needed to align with UN 1.5°C pathways and the UK's carbon budgets.