Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to ensure that rural households that rely on sustainable solid fuels will not experience increases in household bills.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Alternative fuel prices have fallen since winter 2022-23 and while there is no price cap for alternative fuels, households who use solid fuel for heating are still protected by the price cap for their electricity tariff.
The Government is currently providing a package of support worth £108 billion, or £3,800 per household on average between 2022 – 2025, which is one of the largest support packages in Europe. The Government is continuing to support households past April 2024, cutting National Insurance contributions, worth £900 to the average worker, increasing benefits by 6.7%, and increasing the National Living Wage.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the underlying cause of the fall in UK goods exports in 2023, as reported by the Office for National Statistics on 15 February, and what action they are taking to reverse the decline in UK goods exports.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The main causes of the £33 billion decrease (current prices) in goods exports were fuels (predominantly oil) down £24 billion, non-monetary gold and other precious metals down £15 billion, and non-ferrous metals (mainly silver and metals in the platinum group) down £7 billion.
Trade in these commodities is known to be very erratic and export values can fluctuate substantially year on year.
The Department for Business and Trade are committed to growing exports and will continue to provide businesses with a wealth of export support options on great.gov.uk, including trade advisers, Export Champions, the Export Academy, our International Markets network and UK Export Finance
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the level of regional disparity in fuel prices.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Competition and Markets Authority’s road fuel market study found, with the exception of Northern Ireland, differences in average prices between the regions of the UK are relatively small but there was much wider variation between rural and urban categories than between them.
The Government is committed to ensuring drivers get a fair deal for fuel and has a consultation on the PumpWatch scheme which will require petrol-filling stations to share price information within 30 minutes of a change. This will drive down prices by reigniting competition and empowering drivers to find the best deals. Petrol prices are now at a level not seen since the end of October 2021 following our work to bring transparency back to the market.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on reducing the cost of diesel.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a number of issues.
The Government is committed to ensuring drivers get a fair deal for fuel and has launched a consultation on the PumpWatch scheme which will require petrol-filling stations to share price information within 30 minutes of a change. This will drive down prices by reigniting competition and empowering drivers to find the best deals. Road fuels prices are down over three consecutive months. Petrol prices are now at a level not seen since mid-October 2021 following our work to bring transparency to the market.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to support those who live off-grid and rely on (a) oil and (b) liquified petroleum gas to heat their homes.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Last winter, the Government provided a £200 support payment to those households who use alternative fuels through the Alternative Fuel Payment. Since then, prices of such fuels have decreased significantly, and consequently the Government does not intend to repeat the scheme this winter.
The Government is continuing to support those who need it the most, with millions of households receiving up to £900 in further cost of living payments. This is in addition to established support for vulnerable and low-income households through the Winter Fuel Payment worth £250 - £600 and the £150 Warm Home Discount, which has been extended to reach around a million more people compared with the previous scheme prior to winter 2022.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to help reduce the price of fuel at petrol stations.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Road fuel prices are down for the second consecutive month. Petrol prices are now at a level not seen since early October 2021 following our work to bring transparency to the market.
Today, we have launched a consultation which will require petrol stations to report real-time prices. This will mean drivers can compare prices, get the best deal, and prices will fall through greater competition.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to require fuel retailers to publish price information.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government will launch a consultation on the requirement for fuel retailers to provide up to date retail fuel price information shortly.
Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will extend the Government’s ability to establish and mandate participation in smart data schemes via regulations.
Following conclusion of the consultation process and Royal Assent of the Bill, the Government will lay regulations using the smart data powers to set up the statutory open data scheme for road fuel prices.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish legislation on establishing a price monitoring body for fuel pricing and the requirement for retailers to provide real-time pump prices by site.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government announced on 15 November that the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) would undertake the ongoing road fuels price monitoring function. The Digital Markets, Competition & Consumers (DMCC) Bill was amended at Commons Report stage to give the CMA information-gathering powers for the monitoring function.
We will consult shortly on the statutory road fuel prices open data scheme and elements of the monitoring function not outlined in the DMCC Bill. Following conclusion of the consultation process and Royal Assent of the Data Protection & Digital Information Bill, secondary legislation will be laid using Smart Data powers to establish the open data scheme.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the trend in the level of average fuel prices in the period between 25 October 2023 and 22 November 2023.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department publishes average fuel prices for the UK on a weekly basis. The average road fuel prices on 20 November in the UK were 150.5 pence per litre for petrol and 158.4 pence per litre for diesel. Both have decreased week-on-week, by -0.6 percent and –0.7 percent respectively) over the past month.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the difference between fuel prices (a) on and (b) not on motorways.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to him on 18 September to Question UIN 199076.