Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 1 August (HL250), what plans they have for reducing the cost of operating heat pumps in the home below the cost of equivalent heating systems powered by gas or oil.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to ensuring low carbon heating is affordable. We are doing this by encouraging heat pump efficiency through innovation, installer training and product standards. We are also keen to support the most efficient ways of bringing down running costs of low-carbon alternatives.
The Warm Homes Plan will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements. We will be focused on making it economically worthwhile for people to transition to clean sources of heating. We will announce further policy detail in due course.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether burning biomass at Drax Power Station will be an element of their strategy for achieving their net zero carbon emissions target.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As outlined by groups including the Climate Change Committee (CCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA), Greenhouse Gas Removal technologies such as Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technologies can play a role in supporting net zero targets. No decisions on potential future support for this site have been made at this time.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to review the ease of use of NHS online apps for making appointments with GP surgeries for flu and other jabs.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are currently reviewing how to improve access to general practice (GP) appointments, including vaccination appointments accessed through the NHS App. NHS App teams undertake continual rounds of user testing and data monitoring on how the online booking journeys are performing, making changes when issues are identified.
97.8 million COVID-19 and flu vaccinations have been booked by the public through the National Booking System, with specifically 73% being booked through the website, 18% through the app, and 8% through a call centre, since its launch towards the end of June 2024. Alongside this, GPs directly invite registered patients into vaccination clinics using local booking systems.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to review the working of the UK–US extradition treaty.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
There is no current intention to review the UK-US Extradition Treaty. The UK-US Extradition Treaty continues to produce tangible results, bringing justice to victims in both the UK and US.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 6 August (HL248), what percentage of the 1.5 million homes that the Government is committed to delivering in this Parliament will be social homes.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has committed to delivering 1.5 million homes this Parliament, delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation. We are proposing reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework that are designed to support the delivery of affordable housing, including ensuring that councils can prioritise the types of affordable homes their communities need. We have given councils greater flexibility to use their Right to Buy receipts to deliver replacement affordable housing (these flexibilities will be in place for an initial 24 months, subject to review). Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to review the (1) performance, (2) remit, and (3) powers, of Ofwat.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Companies are being held to strict requirements by the regulators, demanding significantly higher spend on environmental enhancement than in the previous price review.
On 11 July, the Secretary of State met with water company bosses to set out our expectations for the sector, just six days after my Cabinet appointment. Alongside this, this Government announced a series of initial steps towards ending the crisis in the water sector.
The Water (Special Measures) Bill will give Ofwat further powers to hold water companies to account where they do not deliver for customers and the environment.
This Bill is just the start of the fundamental and much broader transformation that this Government will lead for the water industry.
The Government will launch a review to shape further legislation that will fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to set out a detailed and comprehensive analytical framework for establishing the optimum route to achieving Net Zero.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government sets five-yearly carbon budgets which outline our pathway to net zero. To identify the optimum route, Government considers a range of factors including technical potential, impacts on growth, wider costs and benefits, as well as advice from our independent advisory body, the Climate Change Committee. We will publish an updated Carbon Budget Delivery Plan in Spring 2025 and set the Carbon Budget 7 target by June 2026, in line with statutory duties.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to commission a study on the benefits and disbenefits of the UK’s departure from the EU, and in particular its impact on the UK economy.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is currently focused on looking forwards and resetting the relationship with our European friends. As such the Prime Minister hosted 45 leaders from across Europe to the European Political Community on Thursday 18 July, to enhance cooperation on European security and other shared challenges the continent faces. Publicly available research on the interactions between the UK-EU relationship and the UK economy is widely accessible.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of the target for building new homes over the next five years will be for social housing.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has committed to delivering 1.5 million homes in this Parliament, delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation. We will work with councils and housing associations to build capacity and ensure we build the homes people need.
We will also introduce ‘golden rules’ in relation to grey and Green Belt release, to ensure development benefits communities and nature, including targeting the delivery of 50 per cent affordable housing on these sites.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to enable people with work and family responsibilities to communicate flexibly with their NHS GP practice, and to make and attend appointments at mutually convenient times.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that it can be challenging to balance accessing care with other responsibilities. That’s why we have committed to modernising the general practice (GP) booking system, making it easier for patients to communicate with their practice, and why we will ensure that anyone who wants a face-to-face appointment can receive one.
Integrated care boards must ensure that out-of-hours appointments are available to patients to help them access care at convenient times, for example on weekends, evenings or bank holidays.
We will make sure the future of GPs is sustainable by training thousands more GPs across the country to take the pressure off those currently working within the system, ensure increased capacity across the National Health Service, and secure a future pipeline of GPs.