Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much and what proportion of the Energy Price Cap is allocated for debt servicing by suppliers.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The setting of the energy price cap rates each quarter is a matter for Ofgem.
Ofgem has published a breakdown of the price cap: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-price-cap
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what criteria was used to calculate the sums allocated for debt servicing by suppliers within the Energy Price Guarantee.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There was no allocation for debt servicing within the Energy Price Guarantee.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the oral Answer by the Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero of 27 February 2024, Official Report, column 123, what her planned timescale is for publishing the Net Zero Council business sector roadmaps.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Net zero business sector roadmap guidelines were published in August 2023, providing a robust, credible and consistent set of criteria to support businesses in developing tailored action plans to reduce emissions.
Industry representatives have led the development of roadmaps in priority sectors, which have been discussed by the Council to catalyse action across the economy and identify dependencies across sectors. This workstream is coordinated on behalf of the Council by the Broadway Initiative, who are exploring options for publication following the conclusion of the Council’s review.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Net Zero Council has consulted (a) industry associations and (b) sector-wide bodies during the development of business sector roadmaps.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Net Zero Council developed guidelines to help businesses create tailored action plans to reduce emissions across their sector. These were published last year and provide a robust, credible and consistent set of criteria for business sector roadmaps.
Industry-led roadmaps have been developed in line with this guidance for priority sectors of the economy, with input from both industry associations and sector-wide bodies.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to help increase engagement between employers and further education colleges.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The department wants providers to continue to offer high-quality, relevant provision and to build upon the already fantastic work they do in partnership with local employers. The coming decade will see substantial economic change and as the economy changes, so will the skills needs of learners and employers. The department recognises that this will play out in different ways across the country and that is why the department introduced Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) to support local innovation and growth so that every part of the country can succeed in its own unique way.
The department is delighted that across all areas of England, employer-led LSIPs have already helped engage thousands of local businesses and have brought them together with local providers and stakeholders to collaboratively agree and deliver actions to address local skills needs. By building locally owned LSIPs from the ground up, the department is reshaping the skills system to better support people to train for, and succeed in, their local labour market.
The department welcomes the excellent engagement currently taking place between the designated employer representative bodies (ERBs) leading the LSIPs and local providers of technical education and training. It has meant that in summer 2023, all 38 areas of England published a plan, which was approved by the Secretary of State for Education, setting out local skills priorities and actions across the next three years. Moving forward, the ERBs leading the implementation and review of the LSIPs are continuing to work closely with local providers and stakeholders to deliver the priority actions set out in the LSIPs. Indeed, each ERB will provide a public annual progress report in June 2024 and 2025 setting out progress made since publication of the LSIPs.
LSIPs are working alongside the department’s wider reforms to further education (FE) funding and accountability, enabling a step change in how FE provision meets local skills needs. To help ensure the success of the programme, and as part of this government’s commitment to continue to invest significantly into FE, the department provided a dedicated £165 million Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) to support providers to work collaboratively to respond to the needs identified in the LSIPs.
Provider projects the department is funding through the LSIF include training to plug key skills gaps in digital, net zero and green, construction, artificial intelligence and health and social care, all of which were identified as priorities by employers through the LSIPs.
Together, LSIPS and the LSIF are galvanising and bringing employers and providers closer together to spread opportunity for young people, skills for businesses and growth for all areas of this country.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to support churches in (a) Penrith and The Border constituency and (b) Cumbria.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
The Church Commissioners and National Church Institutions provide support for the mission and ministry of all dioceses in the Church of England.
The Church Commissioners have made £340 million available to support a Diocesan Investment Programme overseen by the Strategic Mission and Ministry Board, which includes additional funding and resources for lowest-income communities.
In Carlisle Diocese, the Lowest Income Communities Fund has provided £560,000 a year to support a range of projects in Barrow, South and West Carlisle, Workington, Whitehaven, and Maryport. Additional grants from the Strategic Development Fund totalling £ 1.6 million over five years have been awarded. The project funds five new pioneer enabler roles, which in addition to training and support, will help the Diocese reach those groups who are not typically represented in congregations in Carlisle.
Support is available to all churches in Penrith and The Border and across the Diocese with maintenance and management of church buildings via the Buildings for Mission fund, which will provide small grants for repairs and restoration and a dedicated support officer to advise parishes.
Other grants are available from the Diocese supported by the National Church Institutions to enable parishes to move towards Net Zero and increase capacity building at a parish level with youth work, internships, and vocations, and to support better stewardship of church buildings, to upgrade facilities and technology, and enable easier donation and giving.
To find out more about the work underway across Cumbria, Carlisle and Penrith, please contact the Acting Bishop, The Rt Rev Rob Saner-Haigh, Bishop of Penrith, whose details are here: https://www.carlislediocese.org.uk/bishops-and-senior-clergy/
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Answer of 27 March 2024 to Question 19567, (a) on how many days and (b) for how many hours energy companies were asked to (i) curtail and (ii) increase generation as a result of network constraints in 2023.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
National Grid ESO manages network constraints. In 2023, constraint costs were £1.4bn and the volume of balancing services used to manage constraints was around 12TWh. Data are not available on exact timing of curtailment and the split of costs between renewable and gas generators in 2023.
The Government is working with Ofgem and network companies to accelerate network delivery in line with the Winser recommendations and is halving the construction time of new transmission infrastructure from 14 years to 7, delivering the grid capacity needed to alleviate network constraints. The Review of Electricity Market Arrangements consultation considers several options which could help to reduce constraint costs, including locational pricing, electricity storage deployment and establishing constraints markets.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 27 March 2024 to Question 19567 on Energy: Payments, what the cost of (a) curtailing generation of renewable energy and (b) increasing generation of gas power was in 2023.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
National Grid ESO manages network constraints. In 2023, constraint costs were £1.4bn and the volume of balancing services used to manage constraints was around 12TWh. Data are not available on exact timing of curtailment and the split of costs between renewable and gas generators in 2023.
The Government is working with Ofgem and network companies to accelerate network delivery in line with the Winser recommendations and is halving the construction time of new transmission infrastructure from 14 years to 7, delivering the grid capacity needed to alleviate network constraints. The Review of Electricity Market Arrangements consultation considers several options which could help to reduce constraint costs, including locational pricing, electricity storage deployment and establishing constraints markets.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 27 March 2024 to Question 19567 on Energy: Payments, how much wind energy generation was curtailed in 2023.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
National Grid ESO manages network constraints. In 2023, constraint costs were £1.4bn and the volume of balancing services used to manage constraints was around 12TWh. Data are not available on exact timing of curtailment and the split of costs between renewable and gas generators in 2023.
The Government is working with Ofgem and network companies to accelerate network delivery in line with the Winser recommendations and is halving the construction time of new transmission infrastructure from 14 years to 7, delivering the grid capacity needed to alleviate network constraints. The Review of Electricity Market Arrangements consultation considers several options which could help to reduce constraint costs, including locational pricing, electricity storage deployment and establishing constraints markets.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 projected annual network constraint costs for (a) 2024, (b) 2025 and (c) 2030.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
National Grid ESO manages network constraints. In 2023, constraint costs were £1.4bn and the volume of balancing services used to manage constraints was around 12TWh. Data are not available on exact timing of curtailment and the split of costs between renewable and gas generators in 2023.
The Government is working with Ofgem and network companies to accelerate network delivery in line with the Winser recommendations and is halving the construction time of new transmission infrastructure from 14 years to 7, delivering the grid capacity needed to alleviate network constraints. The Review of Electricity Market Arrangements consultation considers several options which could help to reduce constraint costs, including locational pricing, electricity storage deployment and establishing constraints markets.