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Written Question
Heat Pumps: Permitted Development Rights
Thursday 16th March 2023

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

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2023 to Question 126504 on Property: Heating, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending part 14 of schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 to ensure that air source heat pumps may be installed under permitted development rights in all properties.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) are currently conducting an independent review of air source heat pumps. Future policy announcements will be made in the usual way.


Written Question
Woodhouse Colliery
Friday 3rd February 2023

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

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish the advice he has received from his officials on the coal mine in Whitehaven, Cumbria.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Secretary of State's decision, together with the report and recommendation of the independent planning Inspector were published on 7 December 2022. That decision is now the subject of legal challenges. It would not be appropriate to comment further.


Written Question
Property: Heating
Monday 23rd January 2023

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

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to amend the Town and Country Planning Act 2015 to remove the requirement that heat pumps be placed one metre away from the property boundary.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

To support the generation of renewable energy there are a range of permitted development rights that allow for the installation of microgeneration equipment, including air and ground source heat pumps, without the need for a planning application. The rights are set out in Part 14 of Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, as amended. The rights are subject to certain limitations and conditions to protect local amenity, including noise and visual appearance.

We keep all rights under review.


Written Question
Energy Bills Rebate
Monday 23rd May 2022

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

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many households with pre-payment energy meters have received the £150 Council Tax Rebate as of 17 May 2022.

Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade

My Department does not hold data on the energy payment methods used by recipients of the council tax rebate.


Written Question
Energy Bills Rebate
Tuesday 17th May 2022

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

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 25 February 2022 to Question 127248, on Energy Bills Rebate, how many households have so far received financial support from the £144 million discretionary fund to support households who need help with their energy bills but are not eligible for the core council tax scheme.

Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade

My Department has just closed its first round of data collection which monitors delivery of the rebate up until 30 April. We intend to publish the results shortly.


Written Question
Energy Bills Rebate
Tuesday 17th May 2022

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

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many households liable for council tax in bands A-D (a) have received and (b) are yet to receive the £150 non-repayable council tax rebate as announced by the Government on the 23 March 2022.

Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade

My Department has just closed its first round of data collection which monitors delivery of the rebate up until 30 April. We intend to publish the results shortly.


Written Question
Energy Performance Certificates: Fraud
Tuesday 5th April 2022

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

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many times his Department has been informed of any suspected fraudulent or dishonest practice on the part of a member or members as part of the Energy Assessor Accreditation Scheme in the last 24 months.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

Energy Assessor Accreditation Schemes are required to have complaints systems in place to deal with complaints about individual energy assessments. The Department has no plans to require Accreditation Schemes to submit data to the department relating to complaints about their members.


Written Question
Energy Performance Certificates
Tuesday 5th April 2022

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

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on the number of domestic energy assessors that have (a) been suspended and (b) had their membership revoked in the last 24 months.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

Energy Assessor Accreditation Schemes provide monthly reports to the Department. These reports include information on the number of assessors currently suspended by the Accreditation Scheme. The Department has no plans to publish reporting data provided by Accreditation Schemes.


Written Question
Energy Performance Certificates: Complaints
Thursday 31st March 2022

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

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, on how many occasions in the last 10 years his Department has requested analysis from accreditation schemes for energy assessors on complaints they have recorded under the Scheme Operating Requirements.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

Energy Assessor Accreditation Schemes are required to have complaints systems in place to deal with complaints about individual energy assessments. The Department has no plans to require Accreditation Schemes to submit data to the department relating to complaints about their members and has not requested this data in the past.


Written Question
Energy Performance Certificates: Complaints
Thursday 31st March 2022

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

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how his Department decides when to undertake audit surveillance on Energy Assessor Accreditation schemes; how much audit surveillance of those schemes his Department has undertaken in each of the last 12 months; and whether his Department plans to publish the results of that surveillance.

Answered by Eddie Hughes

Energy Assessor Accreditation Schemes are audited by the Department four times per year to ensure that Schemes continue to meet the minimum standards required under the Scheme Operating Requirements. The Department has no plans to publish the results of these audits.