Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make fire and rescue authorities statutory consultees for planning applications for battery energy storage systems.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 5520 on 11 October 2024.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the average cost of energy bills was for people (a) with and (b) without smart meters in the latest period for which data is available; and what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of households with smart meters.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Recent independent evaluation showed that households with smart meters use less energy (equivalent to a cost saving of approximately £40 for the typical household in 2023) on average annually than those with analogue meters. Smart meters also unlock time-of-use tariffs, enabling customers to save money by using energy when demand is low, or when excess clean electricity is available.
To drive progress on the rollout, the Government has set a Targets Framework which sets energy suppliers binding minimum annual smart meter installation targets, alongside requirements for energy suppliers to operate them in smart mode, which are enforced by Ofgem.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of the misclassification of waste into the wrong landfill tax band by the operators of licensed sites on the level of unpaid landfill tax.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates the size of the tax gap, which is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. These statistics are published annually and are available at: Measuring tax gaps 2024 edition: tax gap estimates for 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The latest estimate for England and Northern Ireland of the Landfill Tax gap is 14.5% of the theoretical Landfill Tax liabilities, or £100 million, in the 2022 to 2023 tax year.
The illustrative estimates of the monetary components of the 2022-23 Landfill Tax gap are £75 million at unauthorised sites and £90 million of misclassified plus £35 million underdeclared waste at authorised sites less £100 million compliance yield (tax gap estimates are calculated net of compliance yield).
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of taxable waste being disposed of at unlicensed sites on the level of unpaid landfill tax.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates the size of the tax gap, which is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. These statistics are published annually and are available at: Measuring tax gaps 2024 edition: tax gap estimates for 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The latest estimate for England and Northern Ireland of the Landfill Tax gap is 14.5% of the theoretical Landfill Tax liabilities, or £100 million, in the 2022 to 2023 tax year.
The illustrative estimates of the monetary components of the 2022-23 Landfill Tax gap are £75 million at unauthorised sites and £90 million of misclassified plus £35 million underdeclared waste at authorised sites less £100 million compliance yield (tax gap estimates are calculated net of compliance yield).
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will amend schedule 14 of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 to allow the hospitality sector to advertise on rural roads.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has no plans to make changes to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions to allow for the hospitality sector to advertise on rural roads.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential risk of incinerators to public health.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In England, waste incinerators cannot operate unless issued with an environmental permit by the Environment Agency (EA). The EA assesses the emissions from new incinerators as part of its permitting process and consults the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on every application received. The UKHSA’s position is that modern, well-run and regulated municipal waste incinerators are not a significant risk to public health. This view is based on detailed assessments of the effects of air pollutants on health and on the fact that these incinerators make only a very small contribution to local and national concentrations of air pollutants.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish a Remediable Service Statement for the Police Pension Scheme.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Remediable Service Statements are produced for each scheme member by the relevant scheme administrator.
While the Home Office has responsibility for overarching policy and legislative changes to the police pension regulations, the police pension scheme is locally administered by individual police forces.
It is for each chief constable, in their role as scheme manager for their force, to determine their administrative timetable. This includes the timetabling of when scheme members’ Remediable Service Statements will be distributed.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle (a) illegal landfill sites and (b) waste crime.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) has a range of powers to tackle waste crime and take enforcement action. These powers, coupled with those of their partners ensure that it can confront criminals. Over the last 3 years the EA has stopped more than 1500 illegal waste sites and is now implementing powers from the Environment Act 2021 to increase funding available for enforcement work against waste crime.
This Government is committed to tackling waste crime. We are considering how to continue to increase the pressure on illegal waste operators.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his Department will take steps to accelerate the (a) clearance and (b) restoration of legacy nuclear sites.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA) mission is to clean up the UK's legacy nuclear sites safely, securely, and cost effectively and release them for beneficial reuse. Due to the nature and scale of the mission, delivery remains subject to significant challenges and complexities.
The NDA works with stakeholders including government, regulators, and local communities to ensure that the decommissioning of their sites is safe, sustainable and publicly acceptable, and enables their beneficial reuse as early as possible.
An example of where reuse has already happened is the former Berkeley Technology Centre by South Gloucestershire Council.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release of 26 September 2024 entitled Immediate measures to step up safeguards against African swine fever from Europe, what additional resource has been allocated to (a) Border Force and (b) Port Health Authorities to help implement those measures.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra continues to monitor and review the impact of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), including the Border Control Post at Sevington. We are working closely with industry, trade partners and enforcement agencies to minimise disruption and costs to trade, while continuing to protect our biosecurity. The effectiveness of the import controls has been demonstrated throughout September and October by the interception at Sevington of 34 consignments of plants infested with Pochazia Shantungensis, a fruit tree pest native to China but now present in mainland Europe. The consignments were destroyed, preventing the potential for a damaging outbreak for UK fruit growers.
The BTOM is designed to assure the biosecurity of commercial imports. Illegal imports of products of animal origin are dealt with through separate intelligence led checks, conducted at the border by Border Force, in Border Force facilities, with the assistance of Port Health Authorities.