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Written Question
Energy: Prices
Tuesday 27th June 2023

Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to support households that did not receive support from the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Fund or the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) provided £400 to households with a domestic electricity meter. The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF) provided £400 to around 900,000 households who were not supplied by a domestic electricity contract and who were unable to receive support automatically through EBSS. EBSS was operational until March 2023, and EBSS AF was open until 31 May 2023.

To protect public funds against potentially fraudulent activity, the Government required people applying for EBBS AF to show proof of address, such as a tenancy agreement or a utility bill. The Government understands that some households may not have been able to provide this evidence, which meant they were not able to apply for EBBS AF. The Government is working to determine if there is a robust method for these households to provide proof of their sole residence, whilst protecting public funds, so that support can be made available.


Written Question
Individual Savings Accounts
Tuesday 28th March 2023

Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2023 to Question 87713 on Individual Savings Accounts, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing the 25 per cent penalty on removing savings from Lifetime ISAs in the context of the affordability of housing for first time buyers where (a) the Lifetime ISA limit has remained at £450,000 and (b) house prices have increased 24 per cent between December 2016 and December 2021.

Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

LISA funds, including any government bonus, can be withdrawn for the purchase of a first home valued under £450,000, in the case of terminal illness or from age 60. Withdrawals for any other reason are subject to a 25% fee to recoups the government bonus and any interest or growth arising from it.

Data from the latest UK House Price Index demonstrates that the average price paid by first-time buyers is below the Lifetime ISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except for Inner London, where the average price paid is affected by Boroughs with very high property values. The Office for Budget Responsibility is also forecasting for house prices to fall by 9% by the end of 2024.

The Government keeps the operational aspects of the Lifetime ISA under review, as it does all aspects of the tax system, with any changes being announced at a fiscal event.


Written Question
Electricity Generation: Taxation
Thursday 23rd February 2023

Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential effect of the Electricity Generator Levy on the international competitiveness of the renewables sector.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Britain is a global leader in renewable energy. Since 2010, our renewable energy production has grown faster than any other large country in Europe. We are committed to ensuring that the UK remains one of the best places in the world to invest in clean energy and have set stretching deployment ambitions, including up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030. The Government is supporting renewables deployment through a range of policy levers, including the Contracts for Difference scheme, through which generators have received almost £6 billion net in price support to date.

The Electricity Generator Levy is a proportionate approach to recovering a share of the extraordinary profits being realised by certain generators which will help to fund our vital public services and our support for households and businesses facing increased energy bills.

The importance of continued investment in renewables has been reflected in the design of the levy setting the benchmark price at a level approximately 50% more than the average electricity price over the last decade, indexing the benchmark price to inflation and providing a £10 million allowance below which the levy will not be charged.


Written Question
Electricity Generation: Taxation
Thursday 23rd February 2023

Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing an investment allowance for the renewable energy sector within the Electricity Generator Levy.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Britain is a global leader in renewable energy. Since 2010, our renewable energy production has grown faster than any other large country in Europe. We are committed to ensuring that the UK remains one of the best places in the world to invest in clean energy and have set stretching deployment ambitions, including up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030. The Government is supporting renewables deployment through a range of policy levers, including the Contracts for Difference scheme, through which generators have received almost £6 billion net in price support to date.

The Electricity Generator Levy is a proportionate approach to recovering a share of the extraordinary profits being realised by certain generators which will help to fund our vital public services and our support for households and businesses facing increased energy bills.

The importance of continued investment in renewables has been reflected in the design of the levy setting the benchmark price at a level approximately 50% more than the average electricity price over the last decade, indexing the benchmark price to inflation and providing a £10 million allowance below which the levy will not be charged.


Written Question
Electricity Generation: Taxation
Monday 20th February 2023

Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of including the potential benefits of (a) gas, (b) pumped storage hydroelectricity, (c) battery storage, (d) coal and (e) oil generation in the Electricity Generator Levy.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Electricity Generator Levy applies to groups generating electricity from nuclear and renewable (including biomass) sources and energy from waste.

The Government outlined its assessment of the merits of applying the Levy to a broader section of generation technologies in paras 1.44 to 1.51 of the technical note published at Autumn Statement which is available online: www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-generator-levy-technical-note


Written Question
Electricity Generation: Investment Returns
Thursday 8th December 2022

Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November to Question 94670 on Electricity Generation: Taxation, what the sufficient level of return to incentivise investment required to transition to net zero.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Electricity Generator Levy is a temporary levy which has been designed to allow generators to retain a proportion of the extraordinary return they are making in excess of a benchmark price which has been set at 1.5 times the average price of electricity over the last decade

In the Government’s view this balances the need to raise revenue to fund public services and energy support for households and businesses, while incentivising the investment needed to fuel our transition to net zero.


Written Question
Energy: Taxation
Wednesday 30th November 2022

Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2023 to Question 92053, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of Investment Allowances on the Energy Profit Levy on tax revenue.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

The Energy Profits Levy (EPL) was introduced in May in response to sharp increases in oil and gas prices over the past year. At the Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced that the rate of the levy would rise by ten percentage points to 35 per cent, effective from 1 January 2023. The levy has also been extended until 31 March 2028.

The Government has always sought to balance delivering a fair return for the UK from the use of its resources while providing the right conditions to attract investment in the North Sea that is key to support domestic jobs and the nation’s energy security. That is why the levy includes and will retain a new investment allowance, which means for every £1 businesses invest they will overall get a tax saving of around 91p.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast at Autumn Statement 2022 estimates revenues from EPL are expected to be £41.6 billion between 2022-23 and 2027-28. This is inclusive of the impact of the levy’s investment allowance.


Written Question
Energy: Taxation
Wednesday 30th November 2022

Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2023 to Question 92055, if will make an estimate of the potential tax revenue which would be raised from a 45 per cent tax on extraordinary returns from combined-cycle gas turbine generators.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Gas generators are excluded from the Electricity Generator Levy (EGL) announced at Autumn Statement and the revenue estimates published at Autumn Statement include low-carbon electricity generation only. The UK’s approach is in step with the approach taken internationally including the EU’s whose proposed cap on the market revenues from electricity producers does not include gas fired generators.

As set out in the Government’s response to Question 92055 while gas generators are experiencing increased revenue from the substantial increase in the market prices of electricity, they are also impacted by the substantial increase in the price of gas. The inclusion of gas generators within the EGL could have unintended impacts on electricity pricing with implications for the market as a whole or on certain business models.


Written Question
Energy: Taxation
Wednesday 30th November 2022

Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2023 to Question 92055, if he will list the overseas tax and regulatory interventions which were considered as benchmarks for a potential UK levy on combined-cycle gas turbine generators.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Gas generators are excluded from the Electricity Generator Levy (EGL) announced at Autumn Statement and the revenue estimates published at Autumn Statement include low-carbon electricity generation only. The UK’s approach is in step with the approach taken internationally including the EU’s whose proposed cap on the market revenues from electricity producers does not include gas fired generators.

As set out in the Government’s response to Question 92055 while gas generators are experiencing increased revenue from the substantial increase in the market prices of electricity, they are also impacted by the substantial increase in the price of gas. The inclusion of gas generators within the EGL could have unintended impacts on electricity pricing with implications for the market as a whole or on certain business models.


Written Question
Electricity Generation: Taxation
Monday 28th November 2022

Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to exempt from the Energy Generator Levy the revenues collected from new solar assets that start operating from January 2023.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

From January 2023, a 45 per cent tax will be levied on extraordinary returns being realised from non-carbon electricity generators, including solar generators, in the UK. The measure will raise around £14.2 billion over the scorecard and help fund support for households and businesses with their energy bills as well as vital public services.

The levy will only be applied to a measure of extraordinary returns defined as returns from selling electricity for a period at an average price of more than £75/MWh. This is approximately 1.5 times the average price of electricity over the last decade. The Government considers this to be a proportionate approach to recovering a proportion of the extraordinary profits electricity generators are receiving whilst leaving them with a sufficient level of return to incentivise investment required to transition to net zero.

The levy will be limited, through a de minimis threshold, to those groups generating more than 100 Gigawatt-hours per annum of electricity from in scope generation assets in a qualifying period and will only be applied on extraordinary profits in excess of £10m for the group. This means smaller generators will not be within scope of the levy.