Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many assessors they anticipate will be required before the launch of the Green Homes Grant; and how many such assessors they have already recruited.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
A retrofit assessment will only be mandatory under the Green Homes Grant scheme in a limited number of circumstances, where installations are considered to be more technically demanding. We are confident that there are sufficient retrofit assessors in place to oversee these cases.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to draw up a list of approved contractors to operate the Green Homes Grant scheme.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Businesses and tradespeople must be registered with TrustMark – as well as certified with the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) if installing heating measures – to take part in the scheme. Homeowners and landlords will be able to use the Simple Energy Advice website to find appropriately registered and certified tradespeople in their area that are able to carry out the works, ensuring high standards and consumer protection.
TrustMark is the government-endorsed quality scheme covering work a consumer chooses to have carried out on their home. MCS is a quality assurance scheme supported by BEIS, which certifies products, installation companies and installations to help ensure that Microgeneration products are installed to high quality standards.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to announce the range of measures that make up the Green Homes Grant Scheme; and how that Scheme will operate.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The range of measures has now been announced.
The Green Homes Grants will give homeowners, including owner occupiers and social/private landlords, vouchers to install one or more of the following:
In addition, households can use their voucher for further energy saving measures. These include one or more of the following:
The new scheme will see the Government fund up to two thirds of the cost of home improvements of over 600,000 homes, supporting over 100,000 jobs in green construction. Consumers in England will be able to claim the new vouchers, which are worth up to £5,000. Households on low income can receive vouchers covering 100% of the cost of the improvements, up to a maximum of £10,000.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether they have recruited a sufficient number of assessors to launch the Green Homes Grant Scheme in September as previously announced.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Retrofit assessors will not form a mandatory part of the Green Homes Grant, although applicants are encouraged to consult an assessor if they wish.
Building the capacity and skills for retrofit assessment, and energy efficiency improvements more broadly, is an important part of the Green Homes Grant and will be achieved both through direct support and by ensuring the supply-chain has the confidence to recruit and train.
The Government endorsed Simple Energy Advice service is designed to provide households with online advice and recommendations on the energy efficiency and heating improvements which they can make to their homes. Households will be able to apply for a Green Home voucher via the Simple Energy Advice service and will be encouraged to use the service to select the most appropriate measure or measures for their property.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish a list of approved contractors to operate the Green Homes Grant Scheme.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Businesses and Tradespeople must register for TrustMark accreditation to take part in the scheme if they are not already registered.
TrustMark is the Government-endorsed quality scheme covering work a consumer chooses to have carried out on their home. Households will be able to choose from approved tradespeople in their areas to carry out the work, but only approved and accredited installers will be able to be commissioned, ensuring high standards and consumer protection.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 23 March (HL2389), what additional measures they are proposing to bring forward to support the self-employed.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is working to minimise any social and economic disruption as a result of Covid-19.
We have introduced several measures to support the self-employed, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, mortgage holidays, the delaying of IR35 by a year to April 2021, and support for people struggling to pay their energy bills. Self-employed people will also be able to claim Universal Credit at a rate equivalent to Statutory Sick Pay for employees and may be eligible for Contributory Employment and Support Allowance (which is now payable from the first day of sickness, rather than the eighth). We have also deferred Income Tax Self-Assessment payments due in July 2020, to January 2021.
Following the Chancellor’s latest announcement, the Government have introduced the Self-employment Income Support Scheme. This will support self-employed individuals, including members of partnerships, whose income has been negatively impacted by COVID-19. The scheme will provide a grant to self-employed individuals or partnerships, worth 80% of their profits up to a cap of £2,500 per month. HMRC is urgently working to deliver the scheme and we are expecting to start to pay grants by early June 2020.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent the emergence of a black market in food, medicines, pharmaceuticals and other essential supplies as a result of any shortage in such supplies due to COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Border Force, the National Crime Agency, the Intellectual Property Office, Trading Standards, and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency work together to ensure effective controls are in place to prevent counterfeit goods from entering the supply chain, and to ensure the legitimate market for medicines and other essential products is protected.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide financial support to self-employed people who have to self-quarantine as a result of COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is closely monitoring developments of COVID-19 in relation to potential economic impacts on UK businesses, individuals, and the wider economy.
As part of an unprecedented package of measures to protect millions of people’s jobs and incomes, the Chancellor has announced that Government will strengthen the safety net for self-employed people.
We will suspend the minimum income floor for everyone affected by the economic impacts of Coronavirus, which means every self-employed person can now access Universal Credit at a rate equivalent to Statutory Sick Pay for employees.
Those measures amount to nearly £7 billion of extra support through the welfare system to strengthen the safety net and protect people’s incomes.
In order to support the self-employed through the tax system, the next self-assessment payments will be deferred until the end of the year.