Asked by: Lord McLoughlin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings, if any, they have had with the European Climate Organisation; in what capacity they had any such meetings; and when any such meetings took place.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ministers in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero hold regular meetings with external individuals and organisations to ensure our policies are based on the best available advice and evidence. Details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations is published quarterly on GOV.UK.
No funding has been provided by the Department to this Organisation.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what contingency plans are in place for households in remote and island communities that face delays to getting a radio teleswitch service meter replaced with a smart meter, following the radio teleswitch service switch off on 30 June.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department is aware that some consumers living in remote or rural areas of Scotland have faced historical challenges obtaining RTS meter replacement appointments, due to a lack of installer resource, appropriate technology solutions or logistical challenges.
However, the RTS Taskforce, which the Department sits on, has in the last year led a concerted effort to overcome these historical challenges, resulting in significant progress on RTS replacements in these regions.
The Department would encourage any consumers who have not yet had a replacement to contact their energy supplier to arrange one as soon as possible.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the original estimated completion date was for the East Coast Onshore 400kV Phase 2 project; and what the current estimated completion date is.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators. Transmission Owners (TOs) are licensed and regulated by Ofgem. While TOs are responsible for delivering transmission projects, Ofgem plays a key role in scrutinising delivery plans, setting the regulatory requirements and monitoring performance (including completion dates), against agreed outputs and milestones. Ofgem holds TOs accountable for the efficient and timely delivery of network upgrades and can investigate potential non-compliance where delivery falls short of regulatory requirements.
Asked by: Lord Evans of Rainow (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether funding for the International Water Management Institute project in Sri Lanka, funded through the Climate Action for a Resilient Asia programme, will be provided in the form of loans rather than grants; and, if so, what the terms of the loans will be.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No. The UK uses a combination of grants and other instruments, including loans, as most appropriate to deliver the intended outcomes and provide the best value for money. The majority of UK ICF will continue to be provided through grants. No existing ICF programmes have been switched from grants to loans linked with the recent announcement of £2 bus fares.
Asked by: Lord Evans of Rainow (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether funding for the Matumbawe-Hai project will be provided in the form of loans rather than grants; and, if so, what the terms of the loans will be.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No. The UK uses a combination of grants and other instruments, including loans, as most appropriate to deliver the intended outcomes and provide the best value for money. The majority of UK ICF will continue to be provided through grants. No existing ICF programmes have been switched from grants to loans linked with the recent announcement of £2 bus fares.
Asked by: Lord Harlech (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on 29 January (HC107822), whether they are still considering investing through British international investment in the Tropical Forests Forever Fund.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) represents a critical evolution in forests finance, which is why the Government has been pleased to steadfastly support its development, including by pledging £2.5m to support the establishment of the Fund. Switching funding that had been set aside for international climate finance projects from grants into loans allows DESNZ to make £400m of financial transactions available to support the government's intention to invest in international climate finance projects, which could include projects such as TFFF. I will keep the House updated on the Government’s decision to invest in TFFF.
Asked by: Lord McLoughlin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Labour Climate and Environmental Forum has received any public funding; and, if so, how much.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We have no records of any direct funding having been provided by the Department to this organisation.
Asked by: Lord McLoughlin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the European Climate Organisation has received any UK public funding; and, if so, how much.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ministers in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero hold regular meetings with external individuals and organisations to ensure our policies are based on the best available advice and evidence. Details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations is published quarterly on GOV.UK.
No funding has been provided by the Department to this Organisation.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the total value of fines that levied on applied to energy companies for failing to install smart meters in properties within an appropriate timeframe is, broken down by (1) year, and (2) energy company, since 2023-24.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Under new Guaranteed Standards of Performance (GSOP) regulations customers are entitled to £40 compensation if their energy supplier fails to offer a smart meter installation appointment within 6 weeks of the customer requesting one. These regulations came into force on 23rd February 2026 and therefore no performance data is yet available. Ofgem is responsible for compliance and ongoing monitoring of these new Guaranteed standards.
From 2022 until the end of 2025, energy suppliers were required to meet minimum annual installation targets. In 2023, six large suppliers agreed to pay £10.8m into the Voluntary Redress Fund for not meeting 2022 targets.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likelihood of a rise in the Ofgem price cap after 30 September; and what assessment they have made of the impact of such a rise.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The setting of the energy price cap is a matter for the independent market regulator Ofgem and the Government does not speculate on such matters.
Tackling affordability is this Government’s number one priority. For this reason, we have taken action to remove VAT from electricity bills from 1 October this year for six months. We also acted at last year’s Budget by taking on average £150 of costs off energy bills, with those decisions now factored into bills for the years to come.
The Government continues to monitor energy prices closely and recognises the impact that changes in bills can have on households.