Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
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 bring forward legislative proposals to encourage the development of an open market for aggregating and trading behind meter storage in ancillary services markets.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
As set out in our Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan, the Government is committed to ensuring that the market for ancillary services becomes more transparent and new technologies and players (including those on the customer side of the meter) are able to compete on a level playing field. Enabling this does not require legislative changes. The System Operator is setting out a roadmap of improvements on transparency and accessibility in ancillary services markets and, through its Power Responsive initiative, supports providers of new business models in accessing ancillary services markets.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
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 implications for his Department's policies of the recommendations of the New Economics Foundation's Blue New Deal Action Plan, published in November 2016; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
We welcome the Blue New Deal Action Plan from the New Economics Foundation as a useful contribution to the debate on coastal regeneration. The Government is actively supporting and encouraging coastal areas to diversify and transform their economies.
The Blue New Deal Action Plan outlines the importance of community involvement in coastal areas. In 2015 we provided £1.18 million to establish 118 Coastal Community Teams around the English coast to empower local communities to take control of their own areas’ regeneration and we will shortly be announcing more than 20 new Teams. The Teams ensure local partners (including the Council, community groups and businesses) work together under a local and nationally recognised structure, and agree their strategic direction and key economic priorities. All 118 Coastal Community Teams have submitted publically available Economic Plans detailing how they plan to drive forward future growth, jobs and prosperity. This placed based approach allows for public bodies to work directly with local communities to help resolve specific issues and barriers.
The Government is also supporting coastal areas to create jobs and investment. By 2017 the Coastal Communities Fund will have invested over £120 million in projects that are helping to create or safeguard over 18,000 jobs, provide more than 12,000 training places and apprenticeships, and attract over £200 million of public/ private sector co-finance. A further £90m is available between 2017 & 2021 and is the first time Coastal Community Teams in England are able to bid to the Coastal Communities Fund ensuring that, wherever possible, projects have the support of the local community and meet wider economic objectives.
The Blue New Deal Action Plan suggests a national coastal brand for tourism. The Government continues to strongly encourage use of the Great British Coast logo which can be used by Coastal Community Teams to include all coastal initiatives including tourism. A number of Teams have been tailoring the logo to identify their local area within the overall coastal brand. The Blue New Deal Action Plan specifically identifies the need for an industrial strategy for the coast. This is an area we would be happy to discuss further with the New Economics Foundation.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
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 remaining potential carbon emission savings from residential buildings.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Reducing emissions in relation to residential buildings will be a key part of meeting the carbon budgets we have set. We will set out how we intend to address this in our emissions reduction plan.
The Government has already introduced a number of provisions to drive energy efficiency improvements in both domestic and non-domestic privately rented property through the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015. Landlords will be required by law to have improved the energy efficiency rating of the properties they let to at least an EPC E from April 2018. We are considering a broad range of options for implementation and will publish further guidance to assist landlords and to support enforcement authorities in due course.
In addition, we are rolling out smart meters across homes and businesses in Great Britain which will help consumers to understand and take control of their energy use. We have also commissioned an independent review into consumer advice, protection, standards and enforcement for home energy efficiency and renewable energy measures which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to increase the uptake of energy efficiency measures in non-fuel poor households.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Reducing emissions in relation to residential buildings will be a key part of meeting the carbon budgets we have set. We will set out how we intend to address this in our emissions reduction plan.
The Government has already introduced a number of provisions to drive energy efficiency improvements in both domestic and non-domestic privately rented property through the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015. Landlords will be required by law to have improved the energy efficiency rating of the properties they let to at least an EPC E from April 2018. We are considering a broad range of options for implementation and will publish further guidance to assist landlords and to support enforcement authorities in due course.
In addition, we are rolling out smart meters across homes and businesses in Great Britain which will help consumers to understand and take control of their energy use. We have also commissioned an independent review into consumer advice, protection, standards and enforcement for home energy efficiency and renewable energy measures which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to introduce minimum performance regulation to increase the energy efficiency of housing stock.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Reducing emissions in relation to residential buildings will be a key part of meeting the carbon budgets we have set. We will set out how we intend to address this in our emissions reduction plan.
The Government has already introduced a number of provisions to drive energy efficiency improvements in both domestic and non-domestic privately rented property through the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015. Landlords will be required by law to have improved the energy efficiency rating of the properties they let to at least an EPC E from April 2018. We are considering a broad range of options for implementation and will publish further guidance to assist landlords and to support enforcement authorities in due course.
In addition, we are rolling out smart meters across homes and businesses in Great Britain which will help consumers to understand and take control of their energy use. We have also commissioned an independent review into consumer advice, protection, standards and enforcement for home energy efficiency and renewable energy measures which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
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 amend the definition available in his Department's guidance on calculating the minimum wage, published in October 2016, so that it does not include any periods when a worker is asleep.
Answered by Margot James
There are no plans to amend the guidance in the calculating the minimum wage document in relation to the national minimum wage and sleeping time.