Written Question
Wednesday 23rd November 2022
Asked by:
Sara Britcliffe (Conservative - Hyndburn)
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 increase (a) the take up of the Energy Bill Support Scheme, (b) public awareness of the voucher scheme in operation, (c) the deadline for redeeming vouchers and (d) ensuring energy companies pass on the vouchers for people with pre-payment meters.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Households in Great Britain should have automatically received the first instalment of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) in October. There is no need for customers to claim the discount. Traditional prepayment meter customers should have received their first EBSS discount voucher. EBSS credit is applied automatically to smart prepayment meters.
Suppliers have an obligation, and must be able to evidence, that they have attempted to make a minimum of three attempts by at least two different methods to contact customers who have not redeemed their voucher. Replacement vouchers can be issued until the scheme closes on 30 June 2023.
Written Question
Thursday 7th July 2022
Asked by:
Sara Britcliffe (Conservative - Hyndburn)
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 make an assessment of the potential effect of standing charges on (a) small- and (b) medium-sized businesses.
Answered by Greg Hands
The standing charge is a fixed charge that suppliers pass on to their customers to cover the cost of providing a live supply. If the standing charge were removed, these costs would be added to the unit price of energy. Otherwise, suppliers would not be able to recover the legitimate costs of serving customers. The standing charge is passed on to consumers as a flat rate per day, rather than as a percentage charge (based on how much energy they use). The setting of the standing charge is a commercial matter for individual suppliers.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 29 Mar 2022
Oral Answers to Questions
"I have been contacted by many pensioners across Hyndburn and Haslingden who are concerned about the cost of their energy bills. Will the Secretary of State set out what measures are in place to support my residents, and will he continue to work with other Departments to keep those measures …..."Sara Britcliffe - View Speech
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Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 07 Dec 2021
Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill (First sitting)
"Q Ms Nicholls, you touched on templates earlier. What more can we do to make sure that commercial tenants are aware of the arbitration process available to them?
Kate Nicholls: As soon as we have got the legislation through, we need the communication out there as rapidly as possible …..."Sara Britcliffe - View Speech
View all Sara Britcliffe (Con - Hyndburn) contributions to the debate on: Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill (First sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 07 Dec 2021
Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill (First sitting)
"Q If further restrictions were to come in, what effect would that have on businesses?
Kate Nicholls: Clearly, it affects our ability to pay and it affects viability. It is quite clear, and Ministers have been quite clear about this over the course of the last week, that we …..."Sara Britcliffe - View Speech
View all Sara Britcliffe (Con - Hyndburn) contributions to the debate on: Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill (First sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 07 Dec 2021
Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill (First sitting)
"Dominic, do you want to add something?
Dominic Curran: Kate said exactly what I would have said; if you just replace “hospitality” with “retail”, you are more or less there. The only thing I would add to Kate’s comments is that, just as at the peak of the pandemic, with …..."Sara Britcliffe - View Speech
View all Sara Britcliffe (Con - Hyndburn) contributions to the debate on: Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill (First sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 07 Dec 2021
Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill (First sitting)
"Q In the simple case that you talked about, from your perspective what is the likely cost of that, including the legal fees of the tenants and landlords?
Lewis Johnston: I would not want to commit to exactly what it would involve until we got to that stage, but …..."Sara Britcliffe - View Speech
View all Sara Britcliffe (Con - Hyndburn) contributions to the debate on: Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill (First sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 07 Dec 2021
Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill (First sitting)
"Q Can I clarify that, in answer to a previous question, you stated that you would want documents only?
Lewis Johnston: I think so. I think that would be the assumption. I think it is right that there is an option to go for a hearing if it is …..."Sara Britcliffe - View Speech
View all Sara Britcliffe (Con - Hyndburn) contributions to the debate on: Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill (First sitting)
Speech in Commons Chamber - Fri 22 Oct 2021
Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill
"In fact, my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury was suggesting that we did not need legislation for this. That is why she said that she was opposing the Bill...."Sara Britcliffe - View Speech
View all Sara Britcliffe (Con - Hyndburn) contributions to the debate on: Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 09 Mar 2021
Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation
"I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
In the most difficult economic circumstances we have faced for generations, the Chancellor has struck a careful balance between the difficult and necessary measures to recover our public finances from covid-19 and the need to …..."Sara Britcliffe - View Speech
View all Sara Britcliffe (Con - Hyndburn) contributions to the debate on: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation