Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (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 compatibility of their clean energy plans with protection of nature and the environment, in light of their reported (1) environmental impacts, and (2) flammability and combustibility risks.
Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government believes that the accelerated rollout of clean energy generation is compatible with protection of the natural environment.
All energy proposals are subject to a rigorous planning process, in which the views and interests of local communities are considered. This includes any impact on biodiversity, the environment, and fire risk.
Project developers typically must complete an Environmental Statement (ES) as part of any application. The ES requires developers to consider all potential impacts throughout a project’s life from pre-development to construction, operation, and decommissioning.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they continue to plan to ban onshore fracking in the UK.
Answered by Lord Whitehead
The Energy Independence Bill was included in the Kings’ Speech on 13 May.
The Bill will contain measures which will deliver our manifesto commitment not to issue new licences to explore new fields, including new licences that could be used for fracking for shale gas in England.
There is an effective moratorium on fracking for shale gas (“associated hydraulic fracturing” as defined by the Petroleum Act 1998) in England, which will continue to apply to existing licences. Similar restrictions are in place across other parts of the UK.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what level of support is available for energy costs under the cost of living provisions and additional support under the warm homes discount; whether that support totals £300; and if not, whether they will correct the figure on the Gov.uk website.
Answered by Lord Whitehead
We announced in the Autumn Budget that we would cut the cost of living, and as a result, the price cap fell by 7% / £117 to £1,641 per year for an average dual fuel customer paying by Direct Debit.
This action follows the decision to expand the Warm Home Discount this winter, which will see around six million households receive an additional £150 off their energy bills.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to source more oil and gas through the North Sea, given the current disruption to energy supplies caused by hostilities in the Middle East.
Answered by Lord Whitehead
We are confident that we have multiple and sufficient sources of supply.
Oil and gas are traded on international markets, therefore greater domestic production of oil and gas would not take a penny off bills.
The North Sea is a highly mature basin. Production is naturally declining and has been for the last 25 years. We no longer have the reserves available to support domestic energy demand.
The only route to energy sovereignty and energy security for Britain is our mission for clean, homegrown power that we control.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Whitehead on Thursday 26 February (HL Deb col 742), what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the protocol to surround a fire with safety measures and allow it to burn out in controlling and extinguishing fires and thermal runaways caused by battery energy storage facilities.
Answered by Lord Whitehead
It is the responsibility of fire and rescue services to determine an appropriate firefighting strategy in the event of a battery thermal runaway event. The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has published guidance for local fire and rescue services on grid-scale batteries, to enable effective operational pre-planning.
Government has confidence in the NFCC and local fire and rescue services being best placed to make these assessments.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the procedure by which fire and rescue services are consulted at the planning stages of battery energy storage facilities to advise on site design, minimising fire risk and emergency response planning.
Answered by Lord Whitehead
As set out in the Planning Practice Guidance, government recommends that developers of battery storage facilities engage with fire and rescue services ahead of the submission of the relevant planning application. This is so that issues relating to the siting of the development can be considered ahead of planning.
The guidance also recommends that local planning authorities consult with fire services as part of the formal period of public consultation prior to reaching a planning determination, as well as considering guidance published by the National Fire Chiefs Council.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what additional resources they will make available to fire services in England to tackle fires at battery storage plants.
Answered by Lord Whitehead
Fires at battery storage plants are rare and government expects any related fire services costs to be resourced from overall budgets.
Last year the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities. These allocations, which include the National Insurance Contribution Grant, will see standalone fire and rescue authorities receiving an increase in core spending power of £69.1 million in 2025/26. This is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have taken to prevent thermal runaway at battery storage plants.
Answered by Lord Whitehead
Thermal runaway risks at battery storage plants are mitigated through a regulatory framework overseen by the Health and Safety Executive. This framework sets legal requirements for battery developers and operators, requiring them to maintain health and safety throughout all stages of a battery’s deployment. This includes the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations which sets minimum requirements for the management of explosion risks.
To complement this framework, government has recently consulted on the principle of including batteries within scope of environmental permitting legislation. Government will publish a consultation response in due course.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (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 fire risks of battery storage plants.
Answered by Lord Whitehead
The government takes fire safety extremely seriously. The risk of a fire starting at grid-scale battery sites is lower than those at non-domestic buildings in general from all sources. Existing regulations and guidance limit the impact of a fire were one to occur, in particular with respect to location and operating conditions.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what compensation is available to residents who have to evacuate due to a fire at a battery storage unit.
Answered by Lord Whitehead
Government is not aware of any evacuations which have been required in Britain because of fire at a battery site and does not consider the development of any specific compensation arrangements to be necessary.