Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
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 increase the rate of energy efficiency measure installations in homes in Leeds North West constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is committed to improving the energy performance of homes across the country, including in Leeds North West.
The Government is already investing £6.6 billion over this parliament on decarbonising heat and energy efficiency measures.
The additional £6 billion of new Government funding, announced in the Autumn Statement, will be made available from 2025 to 2028. This provides long-term funding certainty, supporting the growth of supply chains, and ensuring the Government can scale up its delivery over time.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to include micro urban wind turbines in the Government's solar and wind strategy.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is serious about delivering cheaper, cleaner, more secure energy, and will consider all options for increasing electricity generation from renewable sources, including at the small-scale. The Government already supports small-scale onshore wind through the Smart Export Guarantee, which ensures small-scale (5MW) low-carbon electricity generators, such as homes with wind turbines, get payment for the renewable electricity they export to the grid.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
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 is taking steps to increase the number of green jobs in Leeds North West constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Since the launch of the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution in November 2020, an estimated 68,000 jobs have been supported nationally. This forms part of the around 430,000 jobs in low carbon businesses and their supply chains across the country.
Leeds North West benefits from several streams of devolved funding through the West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, including £38m per annum to support local priorities including Green Growth.
In addition to this locally determined investment, Government has provided £238,000 through the Community Renewal Fund, to help build the pipeline of talent and green skills in West Yorkshire.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of how many homes in Leeds North West constituency had solar power panels installed as of 31 October 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
At the end of October 2022, there were 990 domestic installations of solar panels recorded in Leeds North West constituency.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Government’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, published on 18 November 2020, how many jobs have been created in Leeds North West constituency as a result of the implementation of that plan.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government does not collect Green Jobs data at constituency level. Since the launch of the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution in November 2020 an estimated 68,000 jobs have been supported nationally. This forms part of the around 430,000 jobs in low carbon businesses and their supply chains across the country.
Leeds North West benefits from several streams of devolved funding through the West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, including £38m per annum to support local priorities including Green Growth.
In addition to this locally determined investment, Government has provided £238,000 through the Community Renewal Fund, to help build the pipeline of talent and green skills in West Yorkshire.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
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 that small and medium-sized enterprises are receiving the correct level of support from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme in Leeds North West constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme is set out clearly in legislation so will be applied in a uniform way by all licensed suppliers. The regulations include a robust compliance and enforcement regime to ensure requirements are being met. Suppliers are also required to inform customers about the details of support, including the amount of the discount and discounted supply price.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to increase funding for renewable energy sources in Leeds North West constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Grant funding for renewable innovation or community-based renewable schemes is open for both local authorities and private investors to bid. The Contract for Difference scheme, the Government’s main mechanism for supporting low carbon generation, is awarded through a competitive process, ensuring that the most cost-effective projects are supported regardless of their location.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many SMEs in Leeds North West constituency have received Government funding for support in 2022.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the impact rising prices are having on businesses.
Businesses in Leeds North West will have benefitted from the Government’s reversal of the National Insurance rise, saving SMEs approximately £4,200 on average, the cut to fuel duty for 12 months and raising the Employment Allowance to £5,000. In addition, we have brought in the Energy Bill Relief Scheme to protect SMEs from high energy costs over the winter.
The Government is also providing financial support through the Start Up loan scheme - 138 SMEs in Leeds North West have received loans to the value of £1,447,433 as of October 2022.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with businesses in Leeds North West constituency on the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on those businesses.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the impact rising prices are having on businesses, including those in Leeds North West, and is engaging with businesses across the UK to understand these challenges and explore ways to mitigate them.
The Government has reversed the National Insurance rise, saving SMEs £4,200 on average, cut fuel duty for 12 months and raised the Employment Allowance to £5000. In addition, we have brought in the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which is shielding businesses across the country from soaring energy prices, saving some around half of their wholesale energy costs.
We have also announced £13.6 billion of support for businesses over the next five years, reducing the burden of business rates for SMEs.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an estimate of the number of businesses in Leeds North West constituency that are BME owned.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not hold regional information on the proportion of BME-owned businesses in Leeds North West. Government is aware of the challenges faced by ethnic minority businesses and is taking action to support them. Ministers regularly engage with ethnic minority business leaders and networks to better understand the issues facing them
We are working with stakeholders to agree interventions to improve access to finance. Since its launch (2012) the Start Up Loans programme has issued around 20% of its loans to Black, Asian, and Ethnic-minority business worth £183,308,132
We are also delivering actions set out in the Inclusive Britain report (2022), which aim to support ethnic minority entrepreneurs.