Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will make an assessment of the impact of the medical cannabis industry on (a) the economy and (b) employment levels.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Department has no plans to make an assessment of the impact of the medical cannabis industry on the economy or employment levels. The Department annually publishes data on the impact on the economy and employment of the wider Life Sciences sector in the Bioscience and health technology sector statistics, this includes analysis of the bio-pharmaceuticals sector of which the medical cannabis industry is an important part.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 had recent discussions with representatives of (a) energy firms and (b) Ofgem on the potential merits of introducing an energy price cap for commercial customers.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government regularly engages with energy firms and Ofgem to understand the impact rising energy prices have on businesses of all sizes.
The Government announced a new six-month scheme – the Energy Price Guarantee for Businesses (EPGB) – to protect all businesses and other non-domestic energy users from soaring energy costs. It will offer comparable support to that being provided for consumers and we expect the scheme to be available in the autumn. After this initial six-month scheme the Government will provide focused support for vulnerable sectors, targeted to make sure those most in need get support.
Further details regarding the scheme will be published shortly.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will publish the recipients of support under the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not intend to publish the list of participants in the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 undertake a review of the cost of wood pellets used to fuel biomass boilers in the context of the recent rise in the cost of living.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government is keeping energy billsunder constant review. The Government recently announced a £400 grant to help households with their energy bills this winter, plus an additional £650 to help low income households, £150 for those on disability benefits, and a £300 payment for recipients of Winter Fuel Payments, as part of a £15 billion support package to tackle the increased cost of living. This brings the total cost of living support to £37 billion this year.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with representatives from energy firms on limits on payments billed via direct debit to help ensure credit balances do not become excessive.
Answered by Greg Hands
BEIS Ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, including energy suppliers, to discuss a range of energy retail market issues. Energy suppliers should not be increasing their customers’ direct debits by more than is necessary. The Government welcomes Ofgem’s announcement of strict supervision of direct debits and credit balances.
Ofgem published a consultation 20 June on strengthening the existing requirements for licenced energy suppliers to set domestic consumers’ fixed direct debits according to the best and most current information available to them. The consultation can be viewed online at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/statutory-consultation-strengthening-fixed-direct-debit-rules.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 9 March 2022 to Question 132331 on Drax Power Station: Timber, what was the age profile of forests felled for use in the Drax power station.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government does not hold this data. Generators only receive subsidies for biomass that complies with strict sustainability criteria, which includes requirements under both land and greenhouse gas criteria. More information on the sustainability criteria can be found on the Ofgem website https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/renewables-obligation-sustainability-criteria.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his Answer of 1 April 2022 to Question 146696 on Carbon Emissions: Coal and Timber, what quantity of carbon dioxide emissions did the UK report internationally as a memo item for (a) Drax Group from the burning of wood in its power station and (b) all UK bioenergy production in the last 12 months.
Answered by Greg Hands
Defra publish the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register to comply with the Kyiv Protocol requirements. For 2020, the most recent year with available data, the total carbon dioxide emissions from the Drax site in North Yorkshire were 14.3 million tonnes and the carbon dioxide emissions excluding biomass were 1.53 million tonnes. This implies that burning wood at the Drax power station emitted 12.8 million tonnes of biomass derived carbon dioxide.
The quantity of carbon dioxide emissions from biogenic sources that the UK reported internationally to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change for 2020 was 47.198 million tonnes.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the findings of openDemocracy on the disparity between (a) the time it takes for some biomass boilers to pay for themselves and (b) owners continuing to receive payments in excess of the cost of fuel, if he will take steps to (i) identify and (ii) retrospectively reduce payments to people who are in receipt of a subsidy for heating systems that have already returned to the owner the cost of their installation.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government has no plans to stop or reduce retrospectively tariff payments for existing Renewable Heat Incentive participants.