Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of higher energy prices on Post Offices.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises that postmasters – like many small business owners – may be facing challenging financial circumstances. That is why the Government introduced the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which provides a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices for all non-domestic consumers, including Post Offices. The scheme came into effect on 1 October 2022 and will end on 31 March 2023. On 9 January, the Government announced the Energy Bill Discount Scheme which will run for 12 months from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. The new scheme will be available to everyone on a non-domestic contract and suppliers will automatically apply reductions to the bills of all eligible customers.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
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 estimate of the numbers of people who have successfully accessed support through the prepayment voucher scheme.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the first 3 months of the scheme energy suppliers issued 6,020,560 (99%) vouchers to customers with traditional prepayment meters, of which 4,261,940 (71%) have been redeemed by end December. This is an increase from 66% in the previous month.
The Government works with suppliers, consumer groups and charities to communicate the scheme and the importance of checking post, emails and text for the vouchers and taking action to redeem them.
Suppliers have an obligation to make a minimum of three attempts by at least two different methods to contact customers who have not redeemed their voucher. Vouchers are valid for 90 days. Replacement vouchers can be issued but must be redeemed by the 30 June 2023.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to help increase the uptake of support through the prepayment voucher scheme.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the first 3 months of the scheme energy suppliers issued 6,020,560 (99%) vouchers to customers with traditional prepayment meters, of which 4,261,940 (71%) have been redeemed by end December. This is an increase from 66% in the previous month.
The Government works with suppliers, consumer groups and charities to communicate the scheme and the importance of checking post, emails and text for the vouchers and taking action to redeem them.
Suppliers have an obligation to make a minimum of three attempts by at least two different methods to contact customers who have not redeemed their voucher. Vouchers are valid for 90 days. Replacement vouchers can be issued but must be redeemed by the 30 June 2023.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
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 are taking to increase the speed of issuing prepayment vouchers.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the first 3 months of the scheme energy suppliers issued 6,020,560 (99%) vouchers to customers with traditional prepayment meters, of which 4,261,940 (71%) have been redeemed by end December. This is an increase from 66% in the previous month.
The Government works with suppliers, consumer groups and charities to communicate the scheme and the importance of checking post, emails and text for the vouchers and taking action to redeem them.
Suppliers have an obligation to make a minimum of three attempts by at least two different methods to contact customers who have not redeemed their voucher. Vouchers are valid for 90 days. Replacement vouchers can be issued but must be redeemed by the 30 June 2023.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of high energy prices on small and medium size businesses.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme provides a discount on the wholesale element of gas and electricity bills to ensure that all eligible businesses and other non-domestic customers, who receive their energy from licensed suppliers, including Post Offices, are protected from high energy costs over the winter period. Following a HMT-led review, the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme, will run from April until March 2024, and will provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers, including Post Offices. The new scheme strikes a balance between supporting businesses, charities and other non-domestic customer over the next 12 months and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets, with a cap set at £5.5 billion.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
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 help support Post Offices with increased energy costs.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme provides a discount on the wholesale element of gas and electricity bills to ensure that all eligible businesses and other non-domestic customers, who receive their energy from licensed suppliers, including Post Offices, are protected from high energy costs over the winter period. Following a HMT-led review, the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme, will run from April until March 2024, and will provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers, including Post Offices. The new scheme strikes a balance between supporting businesses, charities and other non-domestic customer over the next 12 months and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets, with a cap set at £5.5 billion.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
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 estimate of the number of (a) direct and (b) indirect jobs that could be created in floating offshore wind in (i) Wales and (ii) the UK in the next five years.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Offshore wind is an important growth industry for the UK. We estimate the 50GW ambition outlined in the British Energy Security Strategy, including up to 5GW of innovative floating offshore wind, could support an estimated 90,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030. The UK is already a world leader in floating offshore wind, with more installed capacity than any other country and a strong and growing pipeline of floating offshore wind projects. This includes an expected 4GW upcoming in the Celtic Sea leasing round, with the potential for up to an additional 20GW in the Celtic Sea by 2045.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
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 impact of floating offshore wind on the economy.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Offshore wind is an important growth industry for the UK. We estimate the 50GW ambition outlined in the British Energy Security Strategy, including up to 5GW of innovative floating offshore wind, could support an estimated 90,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030. The UK is already a world leader in floating offshore wind, with more installed capacity than any other country and a strong and growing pipeline of floating offshore wind projects. This includes an expected 4GW upcoming in the Celtic Sea leasing round, with the potential for up to an additional 20GW in the Celtic Sea by 2045.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
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 is taking fiscal steps with Cabinet colleagues to support (a) housing associations and (b) tenants with the cost of gas and electricity for communal spaces in (i) sheltered, (ii) extra care and (iii) nursing homes.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Communal residential spaces may be under a commercial energy contract, covered by the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS). This provides a price reduction to ensure that eligible businesses, charities and public sector organisations are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. If the communal area is covered by a domestic energy contract, it may be eligible for the Energy Bill Support Scheme. An intermediary that will or has received support from any of the above schemes is required to pass support on to end-users in a just and reasonable way.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the £160 million funding for Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme will be maintained.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government understands the importance of ports for the development of floating offshore wind to support the opportunities that this new industry offers the UK. The Government is engaging with stakeholders and analysing feedback following the launch of the Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme Request for Information earlier this year, and the next steps on the Scheme will be set out soon.