Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many households his Department expects will receive funding from the £155 million announced by the Government on 3 February 2022 to support vulnerable people and people on low incomes who do not pay council tax, or pay council tax for properties in bands E-H, when energy bills increase in April 2022.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Local authorities will receive £144 million of discretionary funding to support households who need help with their energy bills but are not eligible for the core scheme.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has published guidance on the Discretionary Fund: local authorities have the flexibility to target additional support at those most in need.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in what way his Department will ensure that none of the individuals who do not directly receive the £200 loan from the Government to cover increasing energy bills in April are not liable to repay the £40 per year costs from October 2022.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All domestic electricity customers in Great Britain will receive a £200 reduction in their electricity costs from this October. This will be delivered via energy suppliers and will be clearly identifiable as a line item on electricity bills.
The energy bill reduction is not a loan – there is no interest due on it, no debt attached to it, and it will not affect recipients’ credit rating.
To spread the cost of the reduction as widely as possible, all domestic energy consumers will pay a charge in future years. This will be reflected by Ofgem in the price cap for future years, with sufficient notice given to suppliers to reflect it in fixed and other tariffs.
There will be cases where changes in people’s personal circumstances mean they may not directly be the recipient of the reduction, but still see increases in future bills, or vice versa.
The £200 reduction will help households manage the increase in energy bills by spreading the increased costs over a few years. The reduction will give households time for their finances to adjust rather than having to deal with the whole price increase up front, providing relief to millions of households.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether all customers will be liable to pay back £40 a year to the Government from October 2022 regardless of whether they were in receipt of the £200 loan from the Government in April 2022.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All domestic electricity customers in Great Britain will receive a £200 reduction in their electricity costs from this October. This will be delivered via energy suppliers and will be clearly identifiable as a line item on electricity bills.
The energy bill reduction is not a loan – there is no interest due on it, no debt attached to it, and it will not affect recipients’ credit rating.
To spread the cost of the reduction as widely as possible, all domestic energy consumers will pay a charge in future years. This will be reflected by Ofgem in the price cap for future years, with sufficient notice given to suppliers to reflect it in fixed and other tariffs.
There will be cases where changes in people’s personal circumstances mean they may not directly be the recipient of the reduction, but still see increases in future bills, or vice versa.
The £200 reduction will help households manage the increase in energy bills by spreading the increased costs over a few years. The reduction will give households time for their finances to adjust rather than having to deal with the whole price increase up front, providing relief to millions of households.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how customers with pre-payment meters will receive the energy bill rebate.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Domestic electricity customers will receive the reduction regardless of their type of payment method.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will work closely with industry and consumer groups to ensure pre-payment customers receive the £200 reduction from October in a way that is convenient for them. BEIS will consult in the spring.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he will implement net zero transition plans on a mandatory basis as part of the Green Finance Roadmap.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
At COP 26, the Chancellor announced that the UK would require financial institutions to publish robust firm-level transition plans setting out how they will decarbonise as the UK meets its ambitious and legally binding net zero targets. Initially, asset managers, regulated asset owners and listed companies will have to publish transition plans that consider the government’s net zero commitment or provide an explanation if they have not done so.
The UK will move towards making publication of transition plans mandatory and will strengthen requirements as standards for transition plans emerge. The new Transition Plan Taskforce, also announced by the Chancellor at COP, will develop a ‘gold standard’ for transition plans and associated cutting edge metrics that will inform these requirements.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of putting zero rating VAT on domestic heat pumps.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government maintains a reduced rate of VAT of 5 per cent on the installation of many Energy Saving Materials, such as ground source and air source heat pumps, subject to certain conditions.
The Government keeps all taxes under review, but going further would impose significant additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution. VAT raised around £130 billion in 2019-20 and helps to fund key spending priorities. Any reduction in tax paid is a reduction in the money available to support important public services, including the NHS and policing.
The Government has published the Heat and Building Strategy, which sets out our vision for a sustainable and affordable transition to a low carbon heating sector. The Strategy sets out proposals that will create a long-term, stable, regulatory framework across all types of buildings, while targeting funding to support early adopters and the vulnerable.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the budget is for the COP26 President in Financial Year 2022.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Departmental funding requirements for the 2022-23 financial year were assessed and agreed through the Spending Review 2021 process. The Cabinet Office and other relevant government departments will assess and determine the appropriate funding requirement for the COP26 Presidency in 2022-23 and fund through these existing budgets.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2021 to Question 76540 on Heating: VAT, for what reason heat batteries are not considered to be an Energy Saving Material.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Heat batteries are not defined as energy-saving materials in VAT legislation. Although the Government keeps all taxes under review, there are no plans to extend this definition.
However, the installation of a battery may benefit from the 5% reduced rate of VAT if it is ancillary to the installation of a qualifying energy-saving material (for example, solar panels) in residential accommodation. Further information can be found in VENSAV3200 and 3210 in HMRC guidance, which is available on GOV.UK.
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 reduce the VAT on heat batteries to five per cent as part of the transition to a net zero energy system.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government maintains a reduced rate of VAT of 5 per cent on the installation of many Energy Saving Materials, subject to certain conditions.
Going further would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution. VAT raised around £130 billion in 2019/20, and helps to fund key spending priorities, including on health, education, and defence.
The Government keeps all taxes under review.
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 the level of support required to develop the UK's green hydrogen economy.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
As outlined in BEIS’ Energy White Paper, the Government intends to take a ‘twin-track’ approach to developing a hydrogen economy, focusing efforts on both “blue” and “green” hydrogen. This is expected to grow the UK’s hydrogen supply chain, build sector confidence, and enable scaling up to ensure the longevity of a hydrogen economy.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan highlighted the significance of hydrogen as a priority technology and the Government recognises the key role it could play in the transition to a net zero economy by 2050. Therefore, the Government has committed to work with industry to aim for 5GW of hydrogen capacity by 2030.
At the 2020 Spending Review, the Chancellor provided £240m for a Net Zero Hydrogen Fund to further the development of a hydrogen economy. The Government is also in the process of developing business models to support the creation of a hydrogen market. Further details of these support mechanisms will be provided in the summer alongside a Hydrogen Strategy.