Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of restrictions under section 333(6) of the Gambling Act 2005 to the powers of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to make regulations on the remote advertising of gambling following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union; and what plans they have to restore any powers that have been lost.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government regularly reviews the effectiveness of gambling regulation in Great Britain.
We are not considering an amendment to the Gambling Act 2005 in relation to the remote advertising of gambling at this time.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of measuring heat transfer coefficients on (1) improving retrofit advice, (2) improving retrofit outcomes, (3) protecting consumers, and (4) de-risking finance offers.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Warm Homes Plan recognised the potential role of Smart Meter Enabled Thermal Efficiency Ratings (SMETERs) in delivering warmer homes more affordably, including: helping tailor fabric and clean heat retrofit measures to homes; identifying hidden defects for remediation; and driving installation quality. We continue to explore new applications as part of ongoing policy activity.
These benefits form part of the rationale behind our recent consultation on introducing an option for recording SMETER Heat Transfer Coefficients as supplementary information alongside EPC ratings, in the ‘Home Energy Model: Energy Performance Certificates’ consultation. We are reviewing responses and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative merits of heat transfer coefficients measured through smart meter enabled thermal efficiency ratings compared to those produced using the current Energy Performance Certificate methodology.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Smart Meter Enabled Thermal Efficiency Ratings (SMETERs) can provide valuable additional insight on the thermal performance of homes in practice with potential to play an important role in delivering warmer homes more affordably. Work is underway to establish a quality assurance system to support use of SMETERs from end-2026, and we are exploring further applications under the Warm Homes Plan.
In the Home Energy Model: Energy Performance Certificates consultation, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/home-energy-model-energy-performance-certificates, we sought views on an option for recording SMETER Heat Transfer Coefficients as supplementary information alongside EPC ratings. We are reviewing responses and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce smart meter enabled thermal efficiency ratings as a voluntary measure within existing warm home schemes and other policies.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Smart Meter Enabled Thermal Efficiency Ratings (SMETERs) can provide valuable additional insight on the thermal performance of homes in practice with potential to play an important role in delivering warmer homes more affordably. Work is underway to establish a quality assurance system to support use of SMETERs from end-2026, and we are exploring further applications under the Warm Homes Plan.
In the Home Energy Model: Energy Performance Certificates consultation, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/home-energy-model-energy-performance-certificates, we sought views on an option for recording SMETER Heat Transfer Coefficients as supplementary information alongside EPC ratings. We are reviewing responses and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer from Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 23 March (HL14862), how many proposals they have (1) approved and (2) rejected, following the second invitation under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government issued the second invitation under the Sustainable Communities Act in 2010, which remains open. The department does not hold data on the outcome of approved or rejected proposals.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - 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 24 March (HL14862), how many proposals they have approved following the second invitation under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government issued the second invitation under the Sustainable Communities Act in 2010, which remains open. The department does not hold data on the outcome of approved or rejected proposals.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 17 March (HL15103), which gambling operators reported regulatory investigations or findings into other activities in other jurisdictions in (1) 2021–22, (2) 2022–23, (3) 2023–24, and (4) 2024–25.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested relating to gambling operators and their overseas operators could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Gambling Commission is responsible for regulating gambling in Great Britain. It is for operators to satisfy themselves that they are acting in a lawful manner in other jurisdictions and for authorities in those jurisdictions to investigate if they are not.
The compliance with legal requirements in overseas jurisdictions is a question for the respective judicial authorities to investigate if operators are not compliant. Where a licensee is found to be operating illegally, the Commission may consider their suitability to hold a licence to offer gambling services in Great Britain.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 17 March (HL15103), which gambling operators have been found to be operating illegally since 2020; and whether the licences of those operators to offer gambling services in Britain have been withdrawn.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested relating to gambling operators and their overseas operators could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Gambling Commission is responsible for regulating gambling in Great Britain. It is for operators to satisfy themselves that they are acting in a lawful manner in other jurisdictions and for authorities in those jurisdictions to investigate if they are not.
The compliance with legal requirements in overseas jurisdictions is a question for the respective judicial authorities to investigate if operators are not compliant. Where a licensee is found to be operating illegally, the Commission may consider their suitability to hold a licence to offer gambling services in Great Britain.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 17 March (HL15103), which gambling operators have substantial customer bases outside of Britain; and in which jurisdictions those customer bases are.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested relating to gambling operators and their overseas operators could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Gambling Commission is responsible for regulating gambling in Great Britain. It is for operators to satisfy themselves that they are acting in a lawful manner in other jurisdictions and for authorities in those jurisdictions to investigate if they are not.
The compliance with legal requirements in overseas jurisdictions is a question for the respective judicial authorities to investigate if operators are not compliant. Where a licensee is found to be operating illegally, the Commission may consider their suitability to hold a licence to offer gambling services in Great Britain.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 17 March (HL15103), what criteria they expect gambling operators to use to satisfy themselves that they are acting in a lawful manner in other jurisdictions.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested relating to gambling operators and their overseas operators could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Gambling Commission is responsible for regulating gambling in Great Britain. It is for operators to satisfy themselves that they are acting in a lawful manner in other jurisdictions and for authorities in those jurisdictions to investigate if they are not.
The compliance with legal requirements in overseas jurisdictions is a question for the respective judicial authorities to investigate if operators are not compliant. Where a licensee is found to be operating illegally, the Commission may consider their suitability to hold a licence to offer gambling services in Great Britain.