Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the energy efficiency of private rented homes.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We are investing £6.6 billion this Parliament and a further £6 billion to 2028 on making buildings cleaner and warmer. That is in addition to the £5 billion that will be delivered through the Energy Company Obligation and the Great British Insulation Scheme up to March 2026. All of our ‘Help to Heat’ schemes are available to eligible households in the private rented sector
We have also improved our information and guidance for those households who want to make energy efficiency upgrades to their property through our digital assist service: www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency. This has also introduced two eligibility checkers to help landlords and tenants understand the measures available to them.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the autonomy of Hong Kong’s (a) economic, (b) monetary and (c) financial systems.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The latest Six-Monthly report on Hong Kong, published on 19 September, notes that Hong Kong's economic, monetary, and financial systems remain distinct and robust from mainland China. The Hong Kong SAR Government has maintained a free market economic and trade system, retaining autonomy in deciding their economic and trade policies. Hong Kong continues to be recognised as an international financial centre with sole discretion over its monetary and financial policies.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of offering stamp duty rebates to households that upgrade their EPC rating within the first two years of home ownership.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Improving the energy efficiency of our housing stock will be vital in the long-term to making the UK more energy resilient, bringing down energy bills and meeting our 2050 net zero commitment.
Introducing tax incentives based on green energy installations could add significant complexity to the operation of the current system, as well as having an impact on the Exchequer. The government keeps all tax policy under review, and any changes are announced at fiscal events as usual.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing stamp duty for homes with higher energy efficiency.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Improving the energy efficiency of our housing stock will be vital in the long-term to making the UK more energy resilient, bringing down energy bills and meeting our 2050 net zero commitment.
Introducing tax incentives based on green energy installations could add significant complexity to the operation of the current system, as well as having an impact on the Exchequer. The government keeps all tax policy under review, and any changes are announced at fiscal events as usual.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate she had made of the number of energy efficiency measures that will be delivered through the ECO4 scheme by March 2026.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
In the published Impact Assessment for the scheme, the Government estimated that around 800,000 measures would be installed under ECO4 by March 2026.
Since it began in April 2022, ECO4 has delivered 319,800 measures by end November 2023, with around 32,700 measures being installed in November. Statistics are available at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-statistics-headline-release-january-2024.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on (a) the raid by Israel Defence Forces on the premises of Action around Bethlehem Children with Disability in Gaza on 3 January 2024 and (b) the destruction of paperwork and the removal of children's clothing; and whether he has held discussions with his Israeli counterpart on this matter.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are aware of these reports. We continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, in particular the need to protect children. In our dialogue with the Israeli authorities we have recognised their legitimate need to deploy security measures. However, we encourage them to deploy these in a way which minimises tension. In instances where there have been accusations of excessive use of force, we have advocated swift, transparent investigations.
We continue to call for international humanitarian law to be respected and civilians to be protected. Too many civilians have been killed and we want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes. We regularly raise the issue with the Israeli authorities, including encouraging transparent investigations into whether use of live fire had been appropriate and to use restraint in deploying live fire.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Simpler Recycling on recycling rates.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Simpler Recycling will play a key part in helping us reach our ambition outlined the in the Resources and Waste Strategy 2018 to reach 65% recycling rate for municipal solid waste, with less than 10% ending up in landfill by 2035. We will be publishing our Final Impact Assessment for Simpler Recycling alongside secondary legislation in 2024 which will contain modelled impacts of the Simpler Recycling on recycling rates.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the statutory guidance on Simpler Recycling in helping ensure collected packaging waste is recycled.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As per new section 45A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the Secretary of State may issue guidance about the duties imposed in sections 45 to 45AZD. We have consulted relevant parties on the proposed statutory guidance and will publish a consultation response in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking through Simpler Recycling to help ensure that collected packaging waste is recycled.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Through Simpler Recycling, all household and non-household premises (such as businesses, schools and hospitals) across England will be able to recycle the same materials in the following core groups: metal; glass; plastic: paper and card; food waste; garden waste (household only). By making recycling clearer and easier, we will help reduce contamination, better preserve material value and help to grow demand for recyclables.
Furthermore, under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging, local authorities will receive payments for managing recyclable packaging waste, supporting costs associated with upgrading services and sorting infrastructure and incentivising them to deliver efficient and effective services. Under EPR, higher fees can be charged to producers for packaging that is less recyclable, incentivising them to choose readily recyclable packaging.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to page 12 of his Department's Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, what progress his Department has made on investigating the role of behavioural science in understanding how single-use coffee cups are used.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is looking further into single-use coffee cups and how to bring their use more in line with the waste hierarchy (reduce, reuse, and recycle). Further consideration of the behavioural aspect of the use of these cups will be undertaken in due course as part of this workstream.