Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, to what extent (a) uranium fuel used at Sizewell B and (b) Britain’s nuclear energy supply chain relies on imports from (i) Rosatom and (ii) its subsidiaries; and what steps he is taking to ensure that sanctions placed on Rosatom are enforced in relation to UK nuclear power stations.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The procurement of nuclear fuel, including uranium and enrichment services, is a commercial matter for reactor operators. The Government works closely with these operators to ensure a secure and resilient supply for the UK fleet but does not routinely collect information relating to any fuel contracts held by UK operators. This information is commercially sensitive, and disclosure would be at the discretion of the operator.
The Government is committed to removing Russian nuclear fuel from UK supply chains by the end of 2028. All current and future reactor operators must comply with UK legal obligations, including any sanctions or trade measures in place against Russia.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Great British Energy on reducing household energy bills.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower will bring energy security, protect billpayers, create good jobs, and help to protect future generations from the cost of climate breakdown. Delivering clean power by 2030 will protect billpayers from volatile international fossil fuel markets and bring down energy bills for good
Great British Energy is a key part of this plan. It will ensure taxpayers and billpayers reap the benefits of homegrown energy by investing in and developing clean energy projects across the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the proportion of overall household spending by lower income households on energy costs.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
DESNZ’s fuel poverty statistics include an affordability measure of the number of households in England required to spend over 10% of income on energy costs. In 2024, this was estimated at 8.99 million households (36.3%).
The review of the fuel poverty strategy consultation document includes a version of this measure limited to households on a low income, in the ‘Measuring fuel poverty’ section. An estimated 6.6 million low income households spent over 10% of income on energy costs in England in 2023.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what contribution GB Energy has made to reducing (a) gas, (b) electricity and (c) fuel bills since its establishment in May 2025.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy (GBE) is a key part of our plan to protect bill payers from volatile international fossil fuel markets by accelerating clean power deployment. By investing in and developing clean energy projects GBE will ensure UK taxpayers and billpayers reap the benefits of homegrown energy.
The Great British Energy Act gained Royal Assent on the 15th May and the company is now setting up its headquarters in Aberdeen and recruiting the team that will deliver its work. The Secretary of State will set out a Statement of Strategic Priorities in due course but in the meantime GBE has made initial investments in community energy and working alongside other government departments to deliver a programme of solar power for schools and hospitals across the country.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 60503 on Housing: Construction, what steps he is taking to help mitigate risks associated with fluctuations in energy prices.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government believes the best way to protect billpayers, both households and businesses, from fluctuations in energy prices is through our mission to deliver clean power by 2030. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support households to get value for money from their energy supplier.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has been working with Ofgem to drive a step-change in customer service through the regulator's Consumer Confidence programme. This includes reviewing the rules around billing accuracy and complaint handling so that suppliers get it right first time.
Further, the government has been working with Ofgem to ensure that when things do go wrong, households get fairer, quicker, easier compensation. This includes looking at expanding automatic compensation to cover more key issues and at further increasing the value of base-level compensation from £40 to reflect the inconvenience for consumers when they are let down by their supplier.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his Department's planned timetable is for publishing the outcome of the consultation entitled Extending the UK Emissions Trading Scheme cap beyond 2030, which closed on 9 April 2025.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The UK ETS Authority, the joint governance body comprising of the UK Government, Welsh Government, Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive, is grateful for the range of stakeholder responses to the Extending the UK ETS cap beyond 2030 consultation.
The Authority recognises the importance of providing certainty and clarity on the scheme that is a cornerstone of its economy-wide approach to decarbonising the whole of the UK. A response to the consultation, outlining the Authority’s decisions, will be published as soon as possible.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the ability of (a) ceramics manufacturers and (b) other energy intensive industries to meet the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) participants, including those in energy intensive industries such as the ceramics sector, are provided with free allocations to mitigate the risk of carbon leakage and incentivise emissions reduction.
The UK ETS Authority is reviewing Free Allocation policy to ensure it supports sectors most at risk of carbon leakage and has guaranteed current free allocation levels until 2027.
The Authority commissioned an independent 2-stage evaluation of the scheme to provide evidence of its effectiveness, early outcomes and long-term impacts. The first findings of the evaluation, which include a preliminary assessment of carbon leakage and emissions reduction across the UK ETS, were published in December 2023.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the data set used to analyse carbon leakage assessments in the recent consultation on free allocation review for the UK Emissions Trading System.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The provision of Free Allocation under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) mitigates the risk of carbon leakage by reducing industrial sectors’ exposure to the carbon price.
The UK ETS Authority is reviewing Free Allocation policy to ensure it targets sectors most at risk of carbon leakage and consulted on its approach to carbon leakage assessment. DESNZ officials have engaged extensively with representatives from energy intensive industries and carefully considered the methodology used to determine carbon leakage risk, including the data sets used in calculations.
The outcomes of the Free Allocation Review, including the data used to assess carbon leakage, will be published in an upcoming Government Response accompanied by an Impact Assessment.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the energy efficiency of older housing stock in the West Midlands.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Warm Homes Plan will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future, including those within the West Midlands. The Government will partner with combined authorities and local and devolved governments to roll out this plan.
As the first step towards the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency, with £1 billion of this allocated to 2025/2026. Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in due course.