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Written Question
Energy: Price Caps
Wednesday 23rd November 2022

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

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 a recent assessment of the potential merits of (a) capping and (b) further regulating the profits of distribution network operators.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, uses the price control process to set the amount that Network Operators can spend and the returns that they can make on investment, in a way that allows the funding needed for a more resilient, low-carbon network while protecting consumers from excessive costs. The Government engages regularly with Ofgem and the network companies throughout the development of the price controls. The next electricity distribution network price control will commence in April 2023, with Final Determinations from Ofgem expected shortly.


Written Question
Energy: Prices
Wednesday 23rd November 2022

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

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 had recent discussions with Ofgem on the distribution network operator pricing consultation entitled Network Price Controls 2021-2028 RIIO-2; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reopening the consultation.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, uses the price control process to set the amount that Network Operators can spend and the returns that they can make on investment, in a way that allows the funding needed for a more resilient, low-carbon network while protecting consumers from excessive costs. The Government engages regularly with Ofgem and the network companies throughout the development of the price controls. The next electricity distribution network price control will commence in April 2023, with Final Determinations from Ofgem expected shortly.


Written Question
Energy: Prices
Wednesday 23rd November 2022

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

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 a recent assessment of the potential relationship between consumer energy costs and the profits made by distribution network operators.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, uses the price control process to set the amount that Network Operators can spend and the returns that they can make on investment, in a way that allows the funding needed for a more resilient, low-carbon network while protecting consumers from excessive costs. The Government engages regularly with Ofgem and the network companies throughout the development of the price controls. The next electricity distribution network price control will commence in April 2023, with Final Determinations from Ofgem expected shortly.


Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 19 Oct 2022
Ban on Fracking for Shale Gas Bill

Speech Link

View all Rebecca Long Bailey (Lab - Salford and Eccles) contributions to the debate on: Ban on Fracking for Shale Gas Bill

Written Question
Business: Loans
Tuesday 18th October 2022

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

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 reports that businesses have had loan applications refused due to their credit histories detailing applications for governmental covid-19 Bounce Back Loans.

Answered by Dean Russell

Like any commercial credit agreement, Bounce Back Loans are reported by lenders to credit reference agencies, and will be recorded on a borrower’s business credit file. Where a borrower goes into default, this will be reported to credit rating agencies and may impact a borrower’s ability to access credit in the future.

Creditworthiness assessments are ultimately an internal matter for lenders, and it would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on these decisions.


Written Question
Drax Power Station: Timber
Tuesday 18th October 2022

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, following the BBC Panorama report on 3 October, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) environmental and (b) financial impact of burning imported wood pellets for energy at Drax power station.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK only supports sustainable biomass use which can deliver genuine greenhouse gas emissions savings compared to fossil materials. The regulator Ofgem is responsible for auditing the sustainability of biomass used by electricity generators which receive support under the Renewables Obligation. Ofgem routinely checks whether the sustainability criteria have been met by generators.

Sustainability information is publicly available on Ofgem’s website, with the latest dataset accessible here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/biomass-sustainability-dataset-2020-21. The forthcoming Biomass Strategy will set out recommendations for further enhancing the UK’s stringent biomass sustainability criteria.


Written Question
Lighting: Regulation
Wednesday 2nd February 2022

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

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 potential effect of the ban on incandescent light bulbs and the phasing out of halogen light bulbs and fluorescent light bulbs on light-sensitive people adversely affected by LED lighting.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

In October 2021, the Government introduced updated energy efficiency measures for lighting products. When forming the Impact Assessment for this legislation, officials considered the health and wellbeing impacts that may arise as a result of the phase out of certain lighting technologies.

To account for any adverse health implications this may have on light-sensitive people, there is an exemption built into the legislation to allow alternative light sources to be provided specifically for use by photosensitive patients, to be sold in pharmacies and other authorised selling points upon presentation of a medical prescription.


Written Question
Private Sector: Recruitment
Tuesday 26th October 2021

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to promote inclusive recruitment practices in the private sector.

Answered by Paul Scully

All employers should be fair and objective in their selection of successful candidates and must not discriminate unlawfully, for example on grounds of race, sex or disability, in their recruitment methods.


Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 25 Jan 2021
Employment Rights: Government Plans

Speech Link

View all Rebecca Long Bailey (Lab - Salford and Eccles) contributions to the debate on: Employment Rights: Government Plans

Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 14 Dec 2020
Energy White Paper

Speech Link

View all Rebecca Long Bailey (Lab - Salford and Eccles) contributions to the debate on: Energy White Paper