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Written Question
Energy: Meters
Monday 6th February 2023

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

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 with Ofgem to ensure energy suppliers adhere to existing rules on prepayment meters.

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

Ofgem has stringent rules on the force-fitting of prepayment meters and is responsible for ensuring licensed energy suppliers comply with those rules. Ofgem publishes details of its compliance and enforcement action on its website at: www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-policy-and-regulation/compliance-and-enforcement.

The Government has set out its 5-point plan regarding prepayment meters and Ministers will keep the House updated on its progress. Ofgem has launched a new prepayment meter investigation, in response to the 5-point plan. I have spoken to Ofgem to discuss the specific case of British Gas.


Written Question
Energy Bills Rebate: Landlord and Tenant
Monday 6th February 2023

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

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 ensure that landlords share the support provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme with their tenants.

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

Third-party intermediaries, such as landlords, who receive the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) must pass that support through to end users, such as tenants, in a just and reasonable way.

The Government has introduced regulations to require that EBSS support is provided to the people it is designed to help. Further details can be found here.


Written Question
Energy: Meters
Monday 6th February 2023

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

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 effectiveness of regulations on the circumstances in which energy suppliers can force customers to use prepayment meters.

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

Ofgem restricts the force-fitting of a prepayment meter on customers who are in debt, except as a last resort. When installing a PPM, suppliers must consider whether this is safe and practicable, including whether a PPM is appropriate for the customer, before remotely switching or installing a PPM under warrant.

The Government has set out its 5-point plan regarding PPM and Ministers will keep the House updated on its progress. Ofgem has launched a new PPM investigation, in response to the plan. I have spoken to Ofgem to discuss the specific case of British Gas.


Written Question
Warm Home Discount Scheme
Friday 3rd February 2023

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

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 people who were eligible for the Warm Home Discount in 2022 and are not eligible in 2023 with no change to their circumstances.

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

The Government has expanded the Warm Home Discount scheme this year, providing £150 rebates to over 3 million households. The Government published impact assessments when consulting and publishing the Government’s response, which compared the option for reforming the scheme to continuing the previous scheme.

As households previously applied through their suppliers, which set their own application processes and eligibility criteria and selected successful applicants each year, the Government has not been able to assess how many households previously eligible are no longer eligible.


Written Question
Warm Home Discount Scheme
Tuesday 31st January 2023

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

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 impact of changing the eligibility criteria for the Warm Home Discount on those no longer eligible under the new criteria.

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

The Government has expanded the Warm Home Discount scheme this year, providing £150 rebates to over 3 million households. The Government published impact assessments alongside the consultation and the final policy, which compared the option for reforming the scheme in England and Wales to continuing the previous scheme. These can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/warm-home-discount-better-targeted-support-from-2022.


Written Question
Warm Home Discount Scheme: Social Security Benefits
Tuesday 31st January 2023

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether energy efficient households in receipt of benefits are able to receive the Warm Home Discount this winter.

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

Households that meet the eligibility criteria are able to receive the Warm Home Discount this winter.

In England and Wales, a household must either be in receipt of the Pension Credit Guarantee Credit or both in receipt of a relevant means-tested benefit and living in a property that has high costs to heat on the basis of its property characteristics. More efficient homes are less likely to meet the high costs criterion.

In Scotland, a household must either be in receipt of the Pension Credit Guarantee Credit or apply to their energy supplier and satisfy the supplier’s eligibility criteria for a rebate under the Broader Group.


Written Question
Consumers: Protection
Tuesday 31st January 2023

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

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 merits of increasing penalties for firms found to have mislead consumers about their rights.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

This is an important issue which the Government has committed to act on shortly. We will introduce new civil monetary penalties for breaches of consumer law. The Government will do so through the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill which will be brought forward in this session of Parliament.

This means that anyone ripping off consumers with misleading claims, unfair terms and conditions and hard-to-exit contracts may be penalised up to 10% of annual global turnover, or £300,000, whichever is higher.

Under these plans, the Competition and Markets Authority will be given direct fining powers, alongside the civil courts which would be able to act on application from enforcers like sector regulators and local authority trading standards departments.


Written Question
Housing: Birmingham Selly Oak
Thursday 22nd December 2022

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency with cavity walls have been insulated as of 13 December 2022.

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

BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), Green Deal (GD), and Green Homes Grant (GHG) Government schemes, around 1,700 cavity wall insulation measures and 1,300 loft insulation measures have been installed in Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency as at end of October 2022.


Written Question
Housing: Birmingham Selly Oak
Thursday 22nd December 2022

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency with lofts had loft insulation installed as of 13 December 2022.

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

BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), Green Deal (GD), and Green Homes Grant (GHG) Government schemes, around 1,700 cavity wall insulation measures and 1,300 loft insulation measures have been installed in Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency as at end of October 2022.


Written Question
Business: Birmingham Selly Oak
Wednesday 21st December 2022

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of businesses are owned by women in Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

In the UK in 2021, 19% of SMEs with employees (a three-percentage point increase on 2020) and 20% of firms with no employees (21% in 2020) were female-led. The government does not hold regional data relating to the number or proportion of female-led business.

The Rose Review is supported by the industry-led ‘Rose Review Council for Investing in Female Entrepreneurs’ that aims to coordinate industry-led action to increase investment into female-led businesses.

The Government has set an ambition to increase the number of female entrepreneurs by half by 2030, equivalent to 600,000 new entrepreneurs.