Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that consumers can access the cheapest energy tariffs without the need to install a smart meter.
Answered by Claire Perry
There are now over 60 suppliers operating in the domestic energy market, some of which offer very competitive prices, especially for fixed term tariffs. We have already halved the time it takes to switch supplier to 21 days (including the statutory cooling off period). Ofgem is leading a programme across industry to introduce faster and more reliable switching by 2020.
Smart metering will make it easier and more convenient for consumers to engage with their energy use so they can reduce their bills and identify the best tariff and energy supplier for their needs. Smart Energy GB, who are responsible for national consumer engagement on smart meters, have found that 86% of people with a smart meter said they made energy saving changes to their behaviour.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has reviewed the effect of the green deal on average energy bills.
Answered by Claire Perry
Without having undertaken such a review, our broad assumption would be that overall the Green Deal would have had very limited effect on average bills. This is because of the small number of Green Deal Plans taken out and the “Golden Rule”, which helps to ensure that loan repayments should not exceed the savings expected to be made on energy bills.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure electrical chargers comply with regulatory standards.
Answered by Margot James
Electrical chargers must comply with the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations which require manufacturers to only put safe products on the market. These Regulations are primarily enforced by Local Authority Trading Standards.
The Government is now considering a recommendation made by the Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety to provide more central capacity to support consumers on product safety, including with regard to electrical products, and we will respond to that recommendation in due course.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to promote engagement with residents and businesses in Cheltenham constituency on the industrial strategy in order to maximise the benefits of that strategy to that local area.
Answered by Claire Perry
The launch of the Green Paper, ‘Building our Industrial Strategy’, in January 2017, commenced an extensive period of consultation, capturing feedback to inform the development of the White Paper. Over 2,000 organisations from across the country responded to the consultation, including a wide range of businesses, public sector organisations and private individuals.
The White Paper set out the government’s approach to working with places to maximise the benefits of the Industrial Strategy, based on the belief that the people best placed to drive forward local economies are those who live, work and do business in them. It included a variety of new opportunities for Local Enterprise Partnerships to drive local economic growth. I am sure that GFirst, the LEP for Gloucestershire, will be keen to build on the area’s cyber security strength with Cheltenham home to GCHQ.
The White Paper also included proposals to work with local leaders to develop Local Industrial Strategies, which will establish new ways of working between national leaders in both the public and private sectors, harnessing their local insights to develop clear, long-term strategies for future growth. Universities, colleges and other local institutions will be key in this process.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more energy suppliers to join the Warm Home Discount Scheme.
Answered by Claire Perry
Energy suppliers with 250,000 or more domestic customer accounts are obligated to participate in the Warm Home Discount scheme. For 2017/18 this covers 15 suppliers.
Suppliers with less than 250,000 domestic customer accounts can apply to join the scheme voluntarily. Ofgem are responsible for approving applications from suppliers. To support a supplier’s decision to join the scheme voluntarily, Ofgem have published guidance on their website, which includes information about the application process and a supplier’s responsibilities when participating in the scheme: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-programmes/warm-home-discount-whd
There are three suppliers participating voluntarily in the Warm Home Discount scheme for 2017/18.
The Department will consult on the operation of Warm Home Discount for 2018/19.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to ensure that the UK intellectual property practitioners will continue to have the right to file European Trade Mark and design applications and appear on behalf of clients at the EU Intellectual Property Office after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
We have sought UK intellectual property practitioners’ views on the effects of the UK's withdrawal from the European Union and we are aware that this is a concern to them. We are continuing to engage with practitioners and businesses and are actively considering the options available.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to encourage research into myalgic encephalomyelitis.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Government supports research into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) through the Medical Research Council (MRC), which receives funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; and through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), which is funded by the Department of Health.
Together the MRC and the NIHR welcome high quality applications for research into all aspects of CFS/ME which would include studies to investigate the biological causes of the condition, improve our understanding of it and to evaluate treatments.
CFS/ME research is a current MRC priority area and has funded such research to the tune of £2.1 million. Research proposals are particularly encouraged that address the mechanisms underlying chronic changes related to CFS/ME and which aim to increase research capacity by bringing new researchers into the field, building partnerships and supporting multidisciplinary teams to tackle research challenges.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to improve broadband access for small businesses.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Government recognises the importance of broadband access throughout the UK for businesses of all sizes. Under the Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme, over 50,000 SMEs across 52 cities took a connection voucher, with around 41,000 businesses already connected to super and ultra-fast broadband.
The Government is also undertaking a Review into Business Broadband, jointly led by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to explore the barriers faced by businesses, including SMEs, in accessing the affordable, high-speed broadband they need. That Review is ongoing and will report later this year.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the decision-making process followed by local enterprise partnerships is transparent.
Answered by Anna Soubry
We’ve set out clear standards on transparent decision making, which Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) must comply with through their local assurance frameworks. These are verified by their accountable section 151 officers. We commissioned the Government Internal Audit Agency to review the quality of these frameworks, and keep the system under review through annual performance conversations with each LEP.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what support her Department is providing for the development of (a) technologies for the improved storage of electricity and (b) locally-based smart grids.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
More than £80m UK public sector support (including Ofgem innovation funding) has been committed to energy storage research, development and demonstration activities since 2012, which is helping to drive down the costs of storage and bring new technologies closer to market. The Department has provided more than £18m of innovation funding for development and demonstration storage technologies; including funding for four technology demonstration projects.
We are facilitating the deployment of a smart grid through: