Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
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 construction workers involved in green retrofitting are given adequate on the job training.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched a £6.9m skills competition in September to provide training opportunities for energy efficiency and low carbon heating supply chains to deliver works and scale up to meet additional consumer demand. Funding is provided to support training individuals with existing skills and those new to the sector in energy efficiency and clean heat measures, along with support for installation companies to gain the required PAS 2030 standards or Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) accreditation, including possible contribution to certification costs.
A number of training providers have now started training, offering free or subsidised courses covering a wide range of skills and certifications across both energy efficiency and clean heat measures. More information regarding the skills competition can be found here, with a webpage with links to training provider websites here.
The Government is investing in the UK workforce to ensure that people have the right skills and qualifications to deliver the low-carbon transition and thrive in the high-value jobs this will create. BEIS and the Department for Education (DfE) are jointly leading work to consider the skills and jobs needed to help deliver net zero, including green retrofit skills. The Green Jobs Taskforce is working with industry, unions and providers to develop solutions and recommendations that will be refined into a shortlist of high impact actions that will make up a final Green Jobs Action Plan (February 2021 to April 2021).
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
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 (a) increasing the level 2 NVQ qualification required for construction workers working on green retrofit and (b) mandating that a higher level technician be required onsite.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched a £6.9m skills competition in September to provide training opportunities for energy efficiency and low carbon heating supply chains to deliver works and scale up to meet additional consumer demand. Funding is provided to support training individuals with existing skills and those new to the sector in energy efficiency and clean heat measures, along with support for installation companies to gain the required PAS 2030 standards or Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) accreditation, including possible contribution to certification costs.
A number of training providers have now started training, offering free or subsidised courses covering a wide range of skills and certifications across both energy efficiency and clean heat measures. More information regarding the skills competition can be found here, with a webpage with links to training provider websites here.
The Government is investing in the UK workforce to ensure that people have the right skills and qualifications to deliver the low-carbon transition and thrive in the high-value jobs this will create. BEIS and the Department for Education (DfE) are jointly leading work to consider the skills and jobs needed to help deliver net zero, including green retrofit skills. The Green Jobs Taskforce is working with industry, unions and providers to develop solutions and recommendations that will be refined into a shortlist of high impact actions that will make up a final Green Jobs Action Plan (February 2021 to April 2021).
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what public health guidance informed his decision prior to the national lockdown that pub patrons had to purchase a substantial meal if they wanted to buy an alcoholic beverage.
Answered by Paul Scully
On 22 February, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister published the Government’s ‘COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021’. The roadmap is a step-by-step plan to ease restrictions in England cautiously, starting with education. Across the four steps, the roadmap sets out the sequencing and indicative timing for easing restrictions. This is a cautious and gradual approach.
With regard to the reopening of the hospitality sector, Step 2 will take place no earlier than 12 April, when hospitality venues will be able to open for outdoor service, with no requirement for a substantial meal to be served alongside alcoholic drinks, and no curfew. The requirement to order, eat and drink while seated (‘table service’) will remain.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what targets he has set for the local supply of electricity for (a) 2025 and (b) 2030.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
With increased electrification of heat and transport, the Government and Ofgem, the independent regulator, continue to work to ensure that the systems and markets that will support this remain flexible, secure, competitive and that they meet the needs of consumers.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
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 energy suppliers have adequate funding to support his Department’s ambition to install a smart meter in every (a) home and (b) small business.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
Since 2013, energy suppliers have been required to take all reasonable steps to install smart meters in homes and small businesses. How they plan for, manage and fund the activity needed to meet this obligation is a matter for individual energy suppliers.
It is Ofgem’s legal duty to determine the methodology for calculating the price cap. In setting the cap Ofgem’s duty is, among other things, to have regard to the need to ensure that suppliers who operate efficiently are able to finance activities authorised by their supply licence, such as smart meter installations.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of any reduction by Ofgem in the smart metering programme allowances under the default tariff cap on the (a) pace of the roll-out and (b) number of workers undertaking that work.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
Since 2013, energy suppliers have been required to take all reasonable steps to install smart meters in homes and small businesses. How they plan for, manage and fund the activity needed to meet this obligation is a matter for individual energy suppliers.
It is Ofgem’s legal duty to determine the methodology for calculating the price cap. In setting the cap Ofgem’s duty is, among other things, to have regard to the need to ensure that suppliers who operate efficiently are able to finance activities authorised by their supply licence, such as smart meter installations.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
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 Ofgem’s consultation entitled, Review of smart metering costs in the default tariff cap: May 2020 statutory consultation on the number of smart meters energy suppliers that can be installed; and how many Engineers would be required to undertake that work.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
It is Ofgem’s legal duty to determine the methodology for calculating the price cap. In setting the cap, Ofgem’s duty is, among other things, to have regard to the need to ensure that suppliers who operate efficiently are able to finance activities authorised by their supply licence, such as smart meter installations.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department issued to organisations representing (a) security guards, (b) bus and taxi drivers and (c) chauffeurs on adaptations to their working practices during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government’s approach to producing this guidance has not been split by specific business types, but by the type of work environment instead. The majority of stakeholders that we engaged with praised and backed this approach and most working environments are covered within the sets of guidance that have been published.
The Government has produced guidance for people who work in and from vehicles, including couriers, mobile workers, lorry drivers, on-site transit and work vehicles, field forces and similar which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/vehicles
We will keep the guidance under review and will consider updating it as circumstances change. We are being led by the science and we will make changes to the guidance when they are needed as determined by the science and as we learn best practices from businesses.