Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress the Government has made since December 2019 on making it easier for fathers to take statutory paternity leave.
Answered by Dean Russell
Information provided by employers to HMRC show the number of individuals in receipt of Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP). This data provides a broad indication of take-up but does not include anyone taking unpaid paternity leave.
Table 1: Individuals in receipt of Statutory Paternity Pay, 2015/16 to 2021/22 (the latest year for which full year data is available)
Year (April to March) | No. of individuals in receipt of SPP |
2015-16 | 215,100 |
2016-17 | 219,900 |
2017-18 | 212,700 |
2018-19 | 201,800 |
2019-20 | 208,000 |
2020-21 | 176,400 |
2021-22 | 204,200 |
In 2019, the Government consulted on high-level options for reforming the parental leave and pay system, including making changes to Paternity Leave. We are currently considering responses to the consultation and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many claimants of Statutory Paternity Pay there have been in each financial year since 2010-11.
Answered by Dean Russell
Information provided by employers to HMRC show the number of individuals in receipt of Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP). This data provides a broad indication of take-up but does not include anyone taking unpaid paternity leave.
Table 1: Individuals in receipt of Statutory Paternity Pay, 2015/16 to 2021/22 (the latest year for which full year data is available)
Year (April to March) | No. of individuals in receipt of SPP |
2015-16 | 215,100 |
2016-17 | 219,900 |
2017-18 | 212,700 |
2018-19 | 201,800 |
2019-20 | 208,000 |
2020-21 | 176,400 |
2021-22 | 204,200 |
In 2019, the Government consulted on high-level options for reforming the parental leave and pay system, including making changes to Paternity Leave. We are currently considering responses to the consultation and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 his Department has made of the reliability of biomass as a method of producing electricity.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Sustainable biomass can be used to produce renewable and low-carbon electricity and has numerous system benefits from dispatchability to inertia, stable established supply chains and prices, providing energy security within a net zero consistent energy system.
The sun does not always shine and the wind does not always blow. Biomass helps to balance the energy grid when this is the case.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 the proposed hydrogen levies contained in the Energy Bill on consumers' fuel bills.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The precise impact of a hydrogen levy on consumer bills will depend on future policy design choices and uncertain market conditions. This means there is currently uncertainty regarding possible consumer bill impacts. The provisions in the Energy Security Bill would not immediately introduce this levy; they would only enable Government to introduce the levy later, through secondary legislation. It is the Government’s intention to publish an impact assessment alongside the draft first set of any future regulations that would establish the levy. Decisions regarding future funding are ongoing and will take into account wider government priorities and policies – including considerations related to the affordability of energy bills.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 on consumers' fuel bills impact of the proposals on hydrogen levies contained in the Energy Bill.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The precise impact of a hydrogen levy on consumer bills will depend on future policy design choices and uncertain market conditions. This means there is currently uncertainty regarding possible consumer bill impacts. The provisions in the Energy Security Bill would not immediately introduce this levy; they would only enable Government to introduce the levy later, through secondary legislation. It is the Government’s intention to publish an impact assessment alongside the draft first set of any future regulations that would establish the levy. Decisions regarding future funding are ongoing and will take into account wider government priorities and policies – including considerations related to the affordability of energy bills.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his remarks in the House on 22 September 2022 on to the potential use of hydrogen for domestic heating, if his Department will publish an assessment of the potential (a) costs and (b) disruption that consumers would experience if hydrogen were used for that purpose.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Using 100% hydrogen for domestic heating is not yet an established technology. The Government, working with industry, is undertaking further work to assess the technical feasibility, costs, benefits and other impacts of using hydrogen, relative to other heat decarbonisation technologies. This will enable decisions in 2026 on the role of low carbon hydrogen in heating.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 his Department has made of the (a) health and (b) air quality impacts of nitrogen oxide emissions generated by the burning of hydrogen in (i) boilers and (ii) other domestic appliances.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Using 100% hydrogen for domestic heating is not yet an established technology. The Government, working with industry, is undertaking further work to assess the technical feasibility, costs, benefits and other impacts of using hydrogen, relative to other heat decarbonisation technologies. This will enable decisions in 2026 on the role of low carbon hydrogen in heating.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, (a) what recent estimate his Department has made of the potential additional costs to consumers if hydrogen is used for domestic heating and (b) what recent assessment he has made of the suitability of hydrogen as a fuel for domestic heating.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Using 100% hydrogen for domestic heating is not yet an established technology. The Government, working with industry, is undertaking further work to assess the technical feasibility, costs, benefits and other impacts of using hydrogen, relative to other heat decarbonisation technologies. This will enable decisions in 2026 on the role of low carbon hydrogen in heating.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 take steps to ban (a) gas boilers, (b) other direct emissions boilers that emit greenhouse gases as defined under the Climate Change Act 2008 and (c) emissions of nitrogen oxides from boilers.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Heat and Buildings Strategy set a framework to support a gradual transition to low-carbon heating, including setting an aim to phase out the installation of new and replacement natural gas boilers by 2035.
The Government has consulted on phasing out the installation of fossil fuel boilers off the gas grid in England and will respond in due course
The Government is considering the case for tighter emissions standards for medium combustion plant, which will include nitrogen oxides emitted from industrial boilers. The Government is continuing to assess the evidence, develop policy options and will consult in due course.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate his Department has made of the potential difference between the average energy bill of (a) a heat network customer and (b) the national average energy bill in the next 12 months.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government believes that consumers living in a typical building on a heat network benefiting from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme will still be paying more per year for their heating than comparable domestic metered gas consumers benefiting from the Energy Price Guarantee.
For an average property the Government estimated a £60 differential, but it is important to note that there is a large variation in bills due to the wide range of technologies and efficiencies of heat networks. The Government will provide a £100 payment this winter to compensate heat network domestic users for these higher costs of heating, ensuring they receive equivalent support to other domestic consumers.